By Gabriel Enogholase

BENIN—AHEAD of the July 2016 governorship election in Edo State, an aspirant on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Solomon Edebiri, has denied the rumour in the state that he was aborting his governorship aspiration and had stepped down for another aspirant, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu.

Chief Edebiri who denied the rumour while speaking with newsmen in Benin at the PDP state secretariat, said, “I want to tell you clearly that there is no truth in the rumour. It is a lie. As far as I and my campaign organisation are concerned, we still remain the candidate to beat in the state.

“We remain the number one candidate in the forthcoming governorship race because we speak the language of the people. The people are with us. All we are asking is for the leaders of the PDP to listen to the people of Edo State.

“I am looking forward to free and fair primaries. The only thing that can survive and regain the peoples’ confidence once again in PDP in Edo State is for it to conduct free and fair primaries, where whoever wins will be accepted and earn the respect and support of other aspirants,

“We will not accept that and we will not tolerate it. We will certainly reject such act in its entirety and will continue to fight to pursue and promote the tenets of democracy that ensures that a candidate emerges through a free and fair contest from the primaries.”

Asked if he had faith in the party leadership to conduct a free and fair primaries, he said, “Yes, I have faith in the party leadership as at today to conduct and free and fair primaries. Except something goes wrong which I doubt, I expect the party leadership to be careful and listen to the body language of the people because the primaries has the tendency to either make or mar PDP in Edo State.

“All I have to say for now is that only a free contest will guarantee the future of the party in the state.”