A screening committee for presidential aspirants, to be inaugurated by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) soon, will determine the eligibility or otherwise of all its 13 aspirants in its forthcoming primary election, Daily Trust on Sunday can report.

This was disclosed by the chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the party, Senator Waild Jibril, who spoke exclusively with Daily Trust on Sunday yesterday. He said the BoT had not zeroed in on any particular aspirant to get the party’s presidential flag-bearer. He added that only the screening panel would determine whether or not any of the aspirants is qualified to vie for the party’s presidential ticket.

Jibrin, who declined to state when the panel would be inaugurated due to what he referred to as ‘our party policy,’ said its members had been fully briefed on the conditions that would either qualify or disqualify any presidential aspirant from participating in the primaries.

Speaking on media reports that some BoT members have been enlisted into the Presidential Primary Nomination Council of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Jibrin warned that any BoT member involved in campaigning for the nomination of its presidential aspirants would be suspended.

“That (referring to the nomination of BoT members into Atiku’s nomination council) has been cancelled. We are yet to formally get details, but we have notified our members against this,” he said, adding: “We have also tried to talk to the aspirants not to involve BoT or NWC members in their campaigns.”

He said the panel conducting the screening of its presidential aspirants ahead of the party’s primaries was fully aware of recent issues relating to certificate scandals and would never shield anyone who does not have the required credentials.

Senator Jibrin said that contrary to some media reports, the invitation that was extended to PDP’s presidential aspirants for a meeting was not intended to seek for a consensus candidate. “Each of our presidential aspirants (13 of them) had the capacity and quality to contest in 2019. Therefore they have been given equal opportunities to go into the race,” he said.

Maintaining that the zoning of the party’s presidential slot to the northern zone of the country in 2019 remained unchanged, Jibrin said: “This has passed through the caucus, BoT and NEC of the party, which is why you have almost all the presidential aspirants from the North. There have been many efforts from the North through our elders and other stakeholders, including the youth and women to seek for their advice and talk to the aspirants.”

Speaking on the allegation that PDP governors were throwing their support for some aspirants, Jibrin said: “In any contest there are always rumours and dissatisfaction, but the most important for the PDP is setting up the process that would produce candidates in a free and fair manner, without the interference of governors or BoT members.”

•Excerpted from a Daily Trust report