Ahead of its Saturday’s national convention, the Peoples Democratic Party, has concluded plans to commit all its Presidential aspirants in the 2019 general elections to a bond, in what appears a move aimed at stemming a possible post-convention crisis.
The bond which is expected to be signed this week, was arrived at following the resolution at the party’s 82nd National Executive Committee, NEC, meeting last week that all aspirants should unite behind the Presidential flag bearer after Saturday’s convention slated for Port Harcourt.
National Publicity Secretary of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan Wednesday, the party stated that despite the plot by the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, to infiltrate its ranks during the convention, the party will emerge from the exercise a more united platform determined to win power at the centre in 2019.
He added that more than anything else, the aspirants are heading to the convention in confident mood, stressing however that they are aware that only one of them will emerge the candidate at the end of the day.
He said: “Our resolve to conduct a free, fair, credible and acceptable convention is total and the party is fully committed to this. This week, all the Presidential aspirants will sign a bond not only to accept the outcome of the process but also to support whoever emerges winner of the ticket.
“The PDP has the experience, the capacity and focus to restore our people’s confidence in this nation having witnessed more than three and a half years of unfulfilled promises by the APC-led government.”
While it is not clear yet if the agreement will be signed in Abuja or Port Harcourt, the publicity scribe dismissed fear of possible crisis as a fallout of the convention saying what would have warranted such, have been addressed by the leadership of the party.
“It is common for people to nurse fears because convention is a big event. As a rebranded and repositioned platform, the National Working Committee has no preferred aspirant as we believe they are all good for the Office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“They (aspirants) have been meeting with party leaders and delegates and at the end, the choice of the delegates is the choice of the party. For this reason, everyone believe and rightly so that that the field is open and the best will emerge in Port Harcourt,” he added.
On Saturday, about 3, 619 delegates will converge in Port Harcourt, the Rivers state capital to pick a Presidential candidate for the party from a pack of 13 aspirants made up of former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar; Senate President, Bukola Saraki; and governors of Sokoto and Gombe states, Aminu Tambuwal and Ibrahim Dankwambo respectively.
Others include erstwhile governors of Kaduna, Sokoto, Jigawa, Kano and Plateau states, Ahmed Makarfi, Attahiru Bafarawa, Sule Lamido, Rabiu Kwankwaso and Jonah Jang respectively as well as immediate past Senate President, David Mark, businessman and ex-lawmaker, Datti Baba-Ahmed and Stanley Osifo.
