At least 400 adhoc and special delegates of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Taraba state have resolved to sue the National Working Committee, NWC, of the party for allegedly imposing a candidate on them.
The NWC last Friday nominated the immediate past Minister of State for Niger Delta, Darius Ishaku, as the party’s governorship candidate in Taraba State to the chagrin of the delegates.
The Taraba PDP members said that contrary to electoral guidelines, delegates were asked to converge on Abuja instead of Jalingo for the conduct of the party primaries, which was hurriedly agreed upon.
“But no election was held at the Wadata plaza”, said Mohammad Goje, a senator, who was at the party national secretariat in Abuja. “We waited for hours till day break, and only to be told that a consensus was reached and Darius was nominated as consensus candidate, we will not agree to that”, he maintained.
In his reaction to the emergence of Ishaku, a former deputy governor of the state, Sale Danboyi said, “Over 400 delegates elected from 168 electoral wards were not allowed to participate in the process of electing a governor, Senators, Reps and state Assembly that was organized outside the state capital”.
You may recall that the primary election was delayed for about five days, following a controversy over the zoning of the governorship position and the list of delegates.
The Taraba PDP leaders led by the state acting governor, Sani Danladi, had on December 8 informed the National Chairman of the party, Adamu Muazu, of an existing agreement signed in 2011.
According to them, the PDP leaders in the state agreed that the governorship slot should go to Taraba South Senatorial District in 2015.
Though Mr. Muazu had at the meeting, directed the state PDP leaders to submit to the party’s national leadership, a copy of the minute, where the agreement and resolution was reached and he would act on it. There is no confirmation yet if the leaders have taken up Mr. Muazu’s challenge and produced the document.
