Atiku, Saraki, Wike, and others compete for the PDP presidential nomination at the party’s convention.
The stage is set for Nigeria’s biggest opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party, to hold its Special National Convention (PDP).
Weeks of controversies, meetings, threats, lobbying, promises, and even defections have culminated in this day, when elected delegates will choose a candidate to represent the party in the 2023 presidential election.
At the Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abuja, where the primary will be held, party delegates, officials, journalists, and other accredited participants are gathered.
According to David Mark, Chairman of the Convention Organising Committee, preparations for the primaries have been made, and the party anticipates a smooth, transparent, and credible convention.
A total of 811 delegates from across the country are slated to vote at the convention, where they will choose from a list of 14 candidates.
Initially, 17 applicants paid N40 million each for the party’s nomination form, but two of them – former lawmaker Cosmas Ndukwe and US-based medical doctor Nwachukwu Anakwenze – were disqualified by the screening committee.
On Tuesday, Peter Obi, a former governor of Anambra State and a leading contender for the position, resigned from the PDP.
The 14 other hopefuls who were cleared have been meeting with party delegates, governors, and leaders across the country since then.
Governors Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto, Bala Mohammed of Bauchi, and Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom; former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; and investment banker Mohammed Hayatu-Deen are the only women among them.
Bukola Saraki and Pius Anyim, both former Senate presidents; Ayo Fayose, a former governor of Ekiti State; and Dele Momodu, a publisher, are among the others. Sam Ohabunwa, a pharmacist, is also competing, as are Charles Ugwu and Chikwendu Kalu.
The candidates hail from Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, indicating the party’s determination to abandon zoning in favor of a more inclusive approach.
