PDP: Moneybags Will No Longer Hijack Primaries

Making this known in Abuja when the Resident Country Director of International Republican Institute, IRI, Mr. Sentell Barnes, paid him a visit at the party’s National Secretariat, Secondus said henceforth, party primaries would be zero expenses to allow for the poor and very popular as well as acceptable candidates.

He also insisted that the era of automatic tickets for candidates was over.

According to the PDP acting National Chairman, biometric membership registration was designed by the party to show that the era of few money bags controlling the party was over, adding that members of the party should pay their dues as the party leadership has decided to take PDP back to the people.

The PDP also disclosed that as the country prepares for Kogi State and Bayelsa State gubernatorial elections slated November 21 and December 5 respectively, it has concluded arrangements to improve on the provision of effective situation rooms for the monitoring of the elections.

Secondus who hailed the new chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, however urged him to be fair in the conduct of Kogi and Bayelsa state governorship elections.

Secondus who disclosed that the party will train staff in collaboration with IRI, however warned staff members against the sale of document to outsiders, adding, “We said it clearly that INEC must follow its rules, provide level playing field to all parties. If the commission is playing outside its rule, we will draw the attention of Nigeria to it. We believe in Nigeria Constitution, we believe in INEC Act, but we want INEC to conduct free and fair election in Kogi and Bayelsa. We want an improvement on the conduct of the last general elections.”

The IRI Resident Country Director, Nigeria, Sentell Barnes, in his remarks noted that the visit was to brainstorm with the leadership of PDP to assist in areas of technical assistance, expertise as well as training, said that the party will not pay for the service, adding that such was extended to other political parties.