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From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
Former Niger State Governor, Babangida Aliyu, has said former president, Goodluck Jonathan, has been cleared to contest the 2027 general election as the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Aliyu, member of the Tanimu Turaki-led PDP’s Interim National Working Committee (INWC) Presidential and Gubernatorial Screening Committee, disclosed this, yesterday, in Abuja, after the exercise.
This is as the Chairman of the panel and former vice president, Namadi Sambo, who served as Jonathan’s deputy between 2010 to 2015 was absent.
Nonetheless, Aliyu, who stood in for Sambo at the screening committee said the former president was given a waiver to contest the 2027 polls on the platform of the opposition party, owing to his credentials.
There have been speculations on whether or not Jonathan is interested in the 2027 presidential contest. Recently, some supporters of the former president reportedly bought the presidential nomination form for him from the Turaki-led INWC.
However, the former president has neither confirmed nor denied his interest in next year’s presidential poll.
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The PDP, which has been embroiled in a leadership crisis, is polarised with the Abdulraham Mohammed-led National Working Committee (NWC), which is backed by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) leading a bloc.
Last week, a Presidential Screening Committee set up by the Mohammed-led NWC and headed by former Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, screened Senator Sandy Onor for its presidential primary.
On Monday, the Turaki camp announced that an undisclosed presidential aspirant, who party sources identified as the former president, would submit his nomination form at an event scheduled for the Shehu Musa Yar’adua Centre, Abuja. However, after several hours of waiting, party officials who had assembled at the venue dispersed, when no presidential aspirant showed up.
However, Aliyu, who is also the Secretary of the Senator Adolphus Wabara-led PDP Board of Trustees (BoT), while briefing journalists, yesterday, on the outcome of the presidential and gubernatorial screening, said the former president is the sole presidential aspirant.
“As you know, the party had already given a presidential aspirant the waiver. As I said in the beginning, he was deputy governor, became governor, vice president and president, so we didn’t see anything that needed screening. “Therefore, the party had given him a waiver. In other words, he has been cleared and declared the candidate of the PDP for the presidential election, and that is President Jonathan.”
Furthermore, the former Niger Governor explained that 12 governorship aspirants from Delta, Taraba, Kebbi, Kano and Akwa Ibom were screened, ahead of the gubernatorial primary scheduled for next week.
He added that the National Secretary of the Turaki-led INWC, Taofeek Arapaja, who is also former Oyo State deputy governor, was also given waiver to contest the governorship primary in the state.
