The Tanimu Turaki-led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says it will be presenting former President Goodluck Jonathan as its sole presidential candidate for 2027 after granting him a screening waiver.
Babangida Aliyu, a member of the Presidential Screening Committee appointed by PDP Interim National Working Committee, disclosed this to newsmen shortly after the screening of aspirants from the party on Tuesday in Abuja.
Babangida, a former Niger State Governor, said that the Presidential Screening Committee had cleared Jonathan as the party’s sole presidential aspirant at the ongoing screening exercise.
He explained that the party’s national leadership had already granted Jonathan necessary waiver to contest in the primary election, noting that the former president’s extensive experience left no room for him to be screened again.
He said: “As you know, the party had already given a presidential aspirant the waiver.
“Like I said in the beginning, he was a deputy governor, became governor, became vice-president and became president.
“So, we didn’t see anything that needed screening.
“Therefore, the party had given him a waiver.
“In other words, he had been declared as the candidate of PDP for the presidential election.”
When asked by journalists to confirm if President Jonathan remains the only contender on the platform, Aliyu said: “Yes.”
He also disclosed that a similar administrative waiver had been extended to Taofeek Arapaja, a former Deputy Governor of Oyo State and erstwhile National Secretary of the party, to contest the Oyo State governorship.
He quoted Arapaja as saying that for some reasons, he had to be in Oyo State to ensure that everything went well.
Aliyu also said that the committee had screened other aspirants vying for various legislative and executive positions across the federation, including Taraba, Adamawa, Kano, Akwa Ibom, and Delta States.
He said: “Our committee is on at any time other people come within the screening period.
“We will continue the screening exercise.”
Expressing confidence in the resilience of the opposition party amid the current internal friction, the former governor asserted that attempts to destabilise the political structure had fallen short.
Aliyu added: “We are very happy that even those who have been attempting to kill the party cannot succeed.
“The party will contest this election by the grace of God and by the Constitution of Nigeria.”
A governorship aspirant in Gombe State, Sharif Abdullahi, while speaking with newsmen shortly after his screening, pledged to address poverty and insecurity in the state, if elected.
Abdullahi said: “Yobe State is among the backward states in Nigeria.
“It was created in 1991 but still lagging behind Jigawa, our neighbour.
“If I’m elected, I’ll make sure I improve on the educational, health, and agricultural sectors.”
He expressed confidence in reclaiming the state for PDP in 2027.
Another governorship aspirant from Delta State, Benedict Etanabene, described PDP as the best platform to contest election and manage Nigeria.
Etanebene said: “PDP is the most stable of all the political parties and in fact, it is the oldest.
“The time PDP managed this country, we recorded tremendous successes.
“One in the growth of democracy and two, economy.
“We were the giant of Africa in economy at that time.
“The security was not as challenging as it is today.
“So if we reminiscence on the past of PDP, it is still the best.”
