PDP sets up committee, announces date to screen Anambra governorship aspirants

By AKINOLA AJIBOLA 

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has set up a committee to screen members aspiring to contest the forthcoming governorship election in Anambra State.

A date has also been fixed for the screening exercise, the party’s National Organising Secretary, Colonel Austin Akobundu, announced in a statement on Saturday.

He explained that the party nominated members of the committee to screen the aspirants, and the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) had given its consent.

The five-man committee is chaired by Captain Idris Wada – a former governor of Kogi State succeeded by incumbent Governor Yahaya Bello of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Other members of the screening committee are Senator Ehigie Uzamere, Mrs Martha Bodunrin, Mr Jones Onyereri, and Mr James Ugwu who is the secretary, as well as the zonal secretary of the PDP in the South East.

According to the main opposition party, the screening exercise is scheduled for Monday and Tuesday next week by 9am at the PDP national secretariat in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

“It is expected that the aspirants will exercise exemplary conduct and strict adherence to rules and regulations during the assessment that will justify the confidence reposed in them by the leadership of our party,” the statement said.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had announced that the governorship election in Anambra State would hold on November 6.

It added that following a meeting held in January, party primaries and resolution of disputes arising from the primaries would take place between June 10 and July 1.

According to the electoral umpire, election into the office of a state governor must hold not earlier than 150 days and not later than 30 days before the expiration of the term of office of the last holder of the office.

It explained that this was in line with Section 178(1) & (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and Section 25(7) & (8) of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended).

INEC noted that the tenure of the incumbent governor, Willie Obiano, would expire on March 17, 2022, and the earliest date to conduct the election was October 18, 2021, and the latest date for the poll was February 15, 2022. (Channels TV)