By Samuel Ogidan
Abuja
The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday said President Goodluck Jonathan and other aspirants must pick their nomination and expression of interest forms between now and October 30 or risk not participating in the 2015 general elections as candidates of the party.
It has also granted unconditional waivers to all returning and new members of the party seeking to participate in the Ward Delegate Primaries.
Addressing journalists yesterday in Abuja, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, said one can only be elected when he has bought the forms.
“The Constitution of the party stipulates that there will be a national convention where decisions or memos from the national executives will either be approve or rejected and there is no way that you can go to a presidential election and say you are adopting or electing someone who has not bought form. The October 30 deadline for purchase of forms will not be extended and it is applicable to all candidates.
“The NWC today decided that the issue of the closing date for the collection of the nomination forms cannot be extended. It will not be extended, 6pm, October 30, no party member can obtain forms for our congress and convention 2014 after the deadline. The last date is 30th of October and it will not be extended.
“The NWC wishes to inform all our party members that the conduct of the primaries and the convention will be open and transparent. We will not tolerate any attempt to influence or interfere in that process.Nobody will be selected, nobody will be adopted, no consensus, it will be an open and transparent primaries at all levels.”
Speaking on the waiver granted to returning members, Metuh said: “Waiver has been granted to all those who want to be delegates, but for all those who want to be in the House of Assembly, Senate, House of Reps, governorship, they will go through our process by applying for waivers.
“Today, the National Working Committee (NWC) has granted unconditional waivers to all returning and new members of the party who seek to participate in the Ward Delegate Primaries.
“Because it is an ad hoc primaries, the NWC wishes to clarify that there is no requirement for party members to write to ward chairmen or local government chairmen for waivers. All party members, new, and returning members are free to participate in the Ward Delegate Congress.
“The NWC has granted a lot of waivers but because of the fact that more are going to apply tomorrow, we have not released it.
“After tomorrow, we will release the names of those who have been granted waiver to run or contest for the positions. I want to state categorically that the NWC also informs Nigerians that the requirement for waiver does not apply to people who are board members or board chairmen occupying such committee positions.
“We are granting the waiver because we have noted that some chapters are planning to say that some people are either returning or they are new members and cannot contest to be delegate, but the issue of three-man delegate is an ad hoc because immediately after the convention, national or local government delegate, upon the end of the congress, the delegated ceases.
“The waivers that the NWC is dealing with are the ones for House of Assembly, the House of Reps, Senate, governorship and presidential. Those are the waivers that we are looking at not issue of delegates.”
Speaking on the group that wants to purchase form for Jonathan, Metuh said: “We are not aware of it. We have not been informed of any group that wants to buy form for president, we are not yet aware. I am just hearing it for the first time.
“Groups have come to purchase forms for senators and governors. I don’t think that the NWC is against anybody coming to purchase form for the president.
He added: “We know that the president has not declared and he has not signified his indication that he is going to contest. He has not given answer to the yearnings of Nigerians but, at the same time, the NWC will not be against any group that wants to purchase form for him. I think they are dealing with the right channel.”