By SIMON EBEGBULEM

BENIN— FORMER Edo State representative on the Board of Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, and chieftain of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the state,  Mr Matthew Iduoriyekemwen, weekend, gave reasons why he shunned the invitation extended to him to appear before a disciplinary committee of the party over alleged anti-party activities.

He explained that members of his group in the state PDP no longer recognized the Chief Dan Orbih-led executive of the party due to the failure of the leadership to win an election in the past two years, including the just concluded governorship election in the state.

Iduoriyekemwen and others had called for the immediate resignation of the entire state Exco of the party led by Chief Orbih, following the failure of the party to win any of the 192 wards in the state during the governorship election.

But to counter the rebellion in the party, the leadership set up a disciplinary committee to try the affected members who it equally accused of working for Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) during the election.

Iduoriyekemwen asserted:   “ If they said because we worked for Oshiomhole that was why we lost, also ask them in their own individual units did they also work for Oshiomhole that led to them losing their units?”