Follow Us on Google
Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The Peoples Democratic party (PDP) has granted waiver to Edo State governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki to enable him contest the party ‘s governorship primary.
The opposition party also postponed its gubernatorial primary earlier scheduled for Tuesday, June 23 to Thursday, June 25.
The PDP in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, yesterday, said its action is in line with Section 29(2)(b) of the PDP constitution and in exercise of the powers of the National Executive Committee (NEC) under Section (50)(3)(b) of the party’s constitution.
Obaseki formally joined the nation’s main opposition party on Friday, in Benin City, bringing an end to speculations about his next political move, after he resigned his membership of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Section 50(4)of the PDP constitution( as amended in 2017) stipulates that “ there shall be a minimum of one month membership span for a member to be eligible to stand for election into any public office, except the appropriate Executive Committee gives a waiver or rules to the contrary.”
While section 50(5)(b) provides that for persons aspiring for governorship position, the deciding authority for waiver “ shall be the National Executive Committee through the National Working Committee (NWC), provided that the process of clearance of the waiver starts from the ward level. “
According to the PDP, the National Working Committee (NWC) in exercise of its powers “ratified the application for waiver by the ward, local government and state executives of the party in Edo state and accordingly grants waiver to His Excellency Governor Godwin Obaseki to enable him contest the gubernatorial primary of the PDP.
