A total of 2,092 delegates would participate in the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) congress today to elect the party’s candidate for the July 14 governorship election.
This consists of 1,585 statutory delegates and 507 special delegates. The statutory delegates are made up of party’s National Executive Committee(NEC) from the state, state party officials, past and serving councillors, council chairman and members of the State House of Assembly, who are members of the PDP.
Others are former principal officers of the state assembly, serving and former members of National Assembly , who are members of the party, as well as the state governor, Ayodele Fayose.
The former Minister of State for Works, Dayo Adeyeye; former deputy governor of the state, Senator Biodun Olujimi and the incumbent deputy, Professor Olusola Kolapo have all been cleared to contest for the governorship ticket.
The party’s primary scheduled to hold in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti capital, would be presided over by the Delta State governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, as chairman of the electoral panel.
An Appeal Committee to be chaired by the PDP national chairman, Uche Secondus, with all the members of the National Working Committee(NWC) as members would sit on Thursday to receive appeals from the congress.
The PDP national publicity secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, disclosed this yesterday, while briefing journalists in Abuja on preparations for the governorship primary.
Ologbondiyan confirmed that 51 appointees of the Ekiti State government, who emerged as the ad-hoc delegates during the ward congresses were disqualified by the party, because they failed to resign their appointments before contesting to delegates in their respective wards.
The opposition spokesman ruled out the replacement of the disqualified delegates.
Ologbondiyan said the party is confident that the state congress would be peaceful, especially as the process leading to governorship primary has been very transparent.
.Daily Sun