2015: PDP Throws Presidential Forms Open

The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday threw open the purchase of presidential forms for the 2015 election to all its party members.

The party, which also stressed that the deadline for collection of forms is Thursday, 6th November, asked aspirants who have already paid for presidential nomination forms to come to the party secretariat with verifiable evidence of payment to collect their forms.

The national publicity secretary of the PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh disclosed this yesterday in Abuja.

President Goodluck Jonathan had on October 30 picked the presidential forms to re-contest the election.

Before then, however, attempts by two presidential aspirants, Dr Abdul Jahil Tafawa-Balewa, son of former prime minister of Nigeria, and Akasoba Zainab Abiola, wife of late winner of the June 12 presidential election, Chief Moshood Abiola, to secure the forms were not possible.

Mrs Abiola told newsmen that the party told her that only one Expression of Interest and Nomination forms were printed and that they were reserved for its sole presidential candidate,

President Goodluck Jonathan. She displayed the N22million fee she paid for the presidential nomination forms at Diamond
Bank Plc.

On his part, Tafawa-Balewa said the party told him that the forms were not ready and instructed him to come back for them.

Tafawa-Balewa, who disclosed that he had paid the required N22million for the presidential nomination form, displayed a
Zenith Bank teller with account number 1012436478 to that effect.

However, Metuh said yesterday in a statement, “The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) wishes to inform all aspirants to all positions for the 2015 general elections that the deadline for the purchase and collection of all nomination forms has been extended to Thursday, 6th November, 2014.

“All aspirants who paid for nomination forms, including the Presidential Form but are yet to collect same, should come to the PDP National Secretariat, Wadata Plaza, Wuse Zone 5, Abuja with verifiable evidence of payment for the purpose of collection of their forms.”

This new directive comes barely 24 hours after the party’s ward congresses across the states, which set in motion the process for the emergence of delegates for the presidential primary which commences December 6.