Abdullahi Tasiu Abubakar
18 June 2008
Yola — The ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) in Adamawa State is holding its primaries to select candidates for next month's local government elections amid allega-tions of imposition of candidates.
The State Independent Electoral Commission (ADSIEC) has fixed July 19 for the local government elections and PDP set yesterday for nomination of its candidates.
Its members in different parts of the state were seen gathering at ward and local government levels for the exercise, with some party leaders supervising.
However, as the exercise be-gan, supporters of many chair-manship and councillorship aspi-rants alleged that their candidates were being sidelined in favour of government-endorsed aspirants.
Speaking to Daily Trust on condition of anonymity for al-leged fear of sanctions, they said that favoured aspirants were already selected in advance and that the exercise was a mere window dressing to endorse them.
Some sources claimed that many incumbent local govern-ment caretaker chairmen had secured the support of the state government for the party's ticket.
Other sources however claimed that few of the incum-bent chairmen could survive and that they should have resigned a month before the exercise, if they were to abide by the party's guidelines.
But the Assistant State Chairman of the party, Prince Medan Teneke, who is handling the primaries in Yola South Local Government Area, denied the allegations, saying the exercise was transparent, free and fair.
He said the party sent its officials in all the wards and local governments to conduct the primaries and that all eligible persons were given equal opportunities to participate.
He admitted that those hol-ding office were not eligible to contest as the party guidelines said that those seeking its ticket should resign a month before election.
The Acting Secretary of the party in the state, Alhaji Danjuma Ilyasu, had earlier said that the primaries was open to all eligible party members and that aspirants who worked hard could secure the tickets.
He said screening exercise had been conducted in all parts of the state and that cleared aspirants should have nothing to fear.
The local government elec-tion was to have been held earlier in the year, but was postponed to next month. The leading opposition party in the state, the Action Congress (AC), is said to be contemplating boycotting the exercise, while the other main opposition party, the All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP), said it was preparing to participate in it.
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