By Gabriel Enogholase

Dr. Pius Odubu has appealed to the leadership of the party to urgently step into stop the alleged buying of Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) from delegates which he said was aimed at derailing a free and fair contest.

Odubu, who is the outgoing deputy governor, spoke while fielding questions from journalists in Benin yesterday. He also expressed concern over the alleged harassment and intimidation of delegates by some of the leaders of the party in the state. “You are not unaware about the latest in town, that some people have been moving from ward to ward, local government to local government, collecting people’s PVCs, for what purpose, I do not know.

“We are watching to see what they will do with it. We have also made known our feelings on this to the appropriate quarters; we hope they will address this unfortunate happening right now.” Asked if he will accept the outcome of the primary should the party fail to address the issue, he said, “I trust my party they will address this issue of PVC accordingly.”

He said the primary was not between him and the alleged governor’s preferred candidate, but among 12 aspirants.

On the sacking of his allies by the state government, he said: “Mr. Governor is the boss, he has the dossier of every one of us, at every point in time, he has the privilege of accessing our performances, and if he is not satisfied, he has the liberty and right to drop anybody at any particular point.