The Peoples Democratic Party in Katsina State on Thursday held its governorship primary, earlier scheduled for Wednesday.
The Returning officer for the exercise, Chika Nwosu, attributed the delay to “some challenges”, which he said, had been surmounted.
He told newsmen shortly before the commencement of the exercise at the PDP State Secretariat along Katsina/ Kano road, Katsina that all the four contestants in the governorship primary and party chieftains agreed to the commencement of the exercise.
Nwosu said,”We have everything in place for the exercise. Very soon, accreditation of delegates will start which will be followed by voting while the declaration of result will also follow.”
One of the governorship aspirants, Alhaji Salisu Majigiri, who spoke on behalf of the four contestants, said they (the four aspirants) and other party’s chieftains agreed to the holding of the primary, adding that they had also agreed to support whoever emerges as winner in the exercise.
He declared,” We have all agreed to the holding of the primary and all the contestants have agreed to support whoever among us emerges winner in the exercise.
“We look forward to a successful primary. We have agreed to rally around whoever emerges the winner in this primary so that our party will eventually form the next Government in the. Our major aim is to send the APC out of Government.”
Accreditation of the 1,117 delegates for the primary had already commenced as at the time of filing this report.
There was a heavy presence of security men at the Secretariat.
Four contestants are in the race for the PDP Governorship ticket. They are Majigiri; the party’s Governorship candidate in the 2019 election,Senator Yakubu Lado; Architect Ahmed Yar’adua, and Shehu Inuwa Imam.
Meanwhile, delegates from the Bakori Local Government Area were already at the state stadium along Mani road, Katsina, venue of the All Progressives Congress Governorship primary as of 1 .p.m.
Delegates from other thirty-three councils were still being screened for the exercise.
There was also a heavy presence of security at the stadium.
No fewer than seven contestants are in the race to clinch the party’s governorship ticket for the 2023 gubernatorial election.
They are the immediate past Secretary to the State Government Dr. Muhammed Inuwa; Deputy Governor, Manir Yakubu; former Commissioner for Budget and Economic planning, Faruk Jobe; former Managing Director of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, Ahmed Dangiwa; and former Director-General of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency, Dikko Umar Radda.
Others include a Kaduna State-based businessman, Senator Abubakar Yar’adua and the immediate past Managing Director of the Nigerian Security and Printing Company, Abbas Masanawa.
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