The Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) has disowned the Plateau Chapter of the Council over comments on the exclusion of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) from the rerun in the state, especially Plateau North.
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Chinyere Ogekalu, IPAC said the subject matter that led to the comment was exhaustively discussed.
The Council said the comment from the Plateau Chapter is not a representation of the outcome of the consultative stakeholders’ meeting held by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) with the leadership of all political parties on December 18, 2024, at the INEC headquarters in Abuja.
“The Inter-Party Advisory Council dissociates itself from the purported press conference held by the Plateau State chapter of the Council, where the leadership decried the exclusion of the PDP from the forthcoming rerun election taking place in the state, especially Plateau North.
“The subject matter that led to the needless press conference was exhaustively discussed on the day of the meeting, where it was communicated to all stakeholders, including the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), that the party will not be part of the rerun in Plateau owing to a subsisting court judgement barring the party from participating in the rerun election.
“While the court judgement is already being challenged by the concerned political party, it is unwise for any individual or group of individuals under any guise to embark on any course of action capable of inciting violence or derailing the fragile peace in Plateau State.
“The leadership of the Council in Plateau State is hereby cautioned and hence admonished to operate within the ambit of the Code of Conduct, as matters of this nature are exclusively within the purview of the National.
“All stakeholders in Plateau State and other states where the rerun elections will be taking place are enjoined to eschew violence and go out peacefully to exercise their franchise by electing credible individuals that will best serve their collective interests,” the statement reads.
