By EMMANUEL OLONIRUHA

The Tanimu Turaki-led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says it will be presenting former President Goodluck Jonathan as its sole presidential candidate for 2027.

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 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.

“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,” he said.

When asked by journalists to confirm if 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 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, among others.

“Our committee is on at any time other people come within the screening period. We will continue the screening exercise,” he said.

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.

“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,” he stated.

A governorship aspirant in Gombe, Sharif Abdullahi, while speaking with newsmen shortly after his screening, pledged to address poverty and insecurity in the state, if elected.

“Yobe state is among the backward states in Nigeria. It was created in 1991 but still lagging behind Jigawa and Gombe states which are our neighbours.

“If I’m elected, I’ll make sure I improve on the educational, health and agricultural sectors,” Abdullahi said.

He expressed confidence in reclaiming the state for PDP in 2027.

Another governorship aspirant from Delta, Benedict Etanabene, described PDP as the best platform to contest election and manage Nigeria.

“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,” he said.

Etanabene pledged to prioritise infrastructure and grassroots development, including empowering local governments, if elected governor of the state.

“I believe that all the councillors in Delta are mainly governors on their own; so development must start from the various wards.

“This means that all councillors will be entitled to a budget from the state, domiciled in the local government account, but when they finish, they will audit the account and get reimbursement from it,” he said.

He also promised to prioritise job creation, education and security, saying “I have the desire to make every local government employ a minimum of 500 persons from each local government.”

Deputy National Publicity Secretary of PDP, who is contesting for Kebbi State governorship, Ibrahim Manga, also promised to address insecurity in the state.

“Kebbi has been bedevilled by insecurity, one of the flashpoints in the country, as it were,” he said.

Manga pledged to address insecurity and boost the state’s economic development through youth employment and empowerment.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike-backed PDP had, on May 14, screened Prof. Sandy Onor, as its own sole presidential aspirant. (NAN)

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