PDP abandons conventions, favours option A4 to choose candidates

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said it will not continue with the usual conventions in picking candidates that will represent the party in elections at all levels in coming elections.

According to the party, it is abandoning such form of selection for the option A4, and it is applicable to presidential candidates, as well as those for governorship, senatorial and House of Representatives among others.

Olisa Metuh, National Publicity Secretary of the Party, made this known when he received the former chairman of the National Patriotic Party of Ghana, Peter Mac Manu at the PDP national secretariat in Abuja on Friday.

Metuh however clarified that the elections would be done through open balloting, said “We intend to elect our presidential candidate starting from Ward level. We are going to apply Option A4 in electing our presidential candidates. It is not going to be restricted to presidential election but others like governorship, senatorial, House of Representatives and all; everybody would be elected from the ward level.”

“People would have to queue up behind the candidates of their choice. These proposed amendments have been sent to the state chapters for their inputs in line with our desire to have people’s opinion.

“We are going to change our system to be that our presidential candidate would be voted for by all party members in the country. It would be done at the ward level, we would no longer elect presidential candidate at the national convention. It would now be for every party member to vote for whoever would be our presidential candidate.

“Whoever would vie for our presidential ticket would have to tour the entire country before he can be elected. This is part of the reform we are coming up with. Basically, this would be the last convention where we would have people to be elected at the national convention. We are taking the party back to the Nigerian people” Metuh stated.

He also admitted that the party is still learning to accept its position as a party in opposition and that the reform being proposed was contained in the recommendation of senator Ike Ekweremadu’s committee recommendation on how to reform and reposition the party which will be presented to members of the party at its forthcoming convention in Port Harcourt.