The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has disqualified three aspirants from participating in the October 30 National Convention.
The disqualified candidates are Dr. Olafeso Eddy Eniola, Adewale Abiodun Oladipo and Okey Muo-Aroh.
Olafeso filed nomination for the position of the National Publicity Secretary while Oladipo and Muo-Aroh vied for Deputy National Chairman (South) and National Secretary respectively.
Chairman of the National Convention Organising Committee (NCOC) Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, at the unveiling of convention logo and promotional materials, explained that the disqualified aspirants took the party to court.
“Their intention also was to stop the National Convention. So if you have taken the party to court without exhausting the internal mechanism of settling whatever grievances you have and you try to stop the convention, the committee feels you can’t also enjoy the convention,” the governor said.
He cited the provision of section 51(1l) of the PDP Constitution, which allows members to exhaust all the internal mechanisms in the party before going to court.
The same constitution of our great party has also made a provision that if you have not exhausted section 58 (1l), you can be punished under Section 59 (1e). So you can see that the screening committee has done what is needful of them.
“You must be disciplined in the party for us to survive. And I think we have to move away from the past as we are trying to open a new chapter for the party,” he added.
Thirty-one aspirants were forwarded to the screening committee headed by former Attorney General and Minister of Justice Mohammed Bello Adoke, on Wednesday for screening.
He stated that the disqualified aspirants can appeal against their disqualification if they are not satisfied with the reasons given, and assured that the committee would work to ensure that the party has an open, transparent and democratic convention.