PDP succumbs to pressure, agrees to sell forms to Balewa’s son, Abiola’s wife, others

Balewa's son set to pick his form

Ahead of December 6 National Convention of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, where President Goodluck Jonathan, the sole presidential candidate of the party would be ratified, the National leadership of the party, yesterday reversed its decision, saying the Presidential forms were now available for all.

The party, in a two-paragraph statement by PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, urged all those who have paid for the Expression of Interest and nomination forms to visit the party’s National Secretariat to pick the forms.

Metuh, who insisted that sale of forms for aspirants closes on Thursday this week, said, “The Peoples Democratic Party wishes to inform all aspirants to all positions for the 2015 general elections that the deadline for the purchase and collection of all nomination forms has been extended to Thursday, 6th November 2014.

“All aspirants who paid for nomination forms, including the Presidential Form but yet to collect same, should come to the PDP National Secretariat, Wadata Plaza, Wuse Zone 5, Abuja with verifiable evidence of payment for purposes of collection of their forms.”

Meanwhile, a source told Vanguard on phone yesterday that with this development, son of Nigeria’s late prime minister, Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Dr Abdul Jelil, who was denied the forms, would today storm the National Secretariat to get the forms.

It will be recalled that NEC had at its 66th NEC meeting endorsed President Goodluck Jonathan as the party’s sole Presidential candidate of the party, whose candidature would be ratified at the December 6 National Convention.

The party had also said after the endorsement through Chief Metuh that all law abiding members of the party must adhere strictly to the decision of PDP by not picking presidential nomination forms against the decision of the organs of the party.

Following the decision of the party, two presidential aspirants, son of Nigeria’s late prime minister, Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Dr Abdul Jelil and Mrs Zainab Duke-Abiola were on Tuesday last week denied the forms against the backdrop that only one presidential form was printed because of the adoption of President Jonathan.

Vanguard