The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has begun screening of its governorship aspirants for Kogi and Bayelsa states ahead of the Nov.16 elections.
The party had raked in N693m from sales of nomination form to the aspirants vying for the two governorship seats in Bayelsa and Kogi.
No fewer than 21 aspirants from Bayelsa purchased the PDP form and 13 from Kogi.
During the last general elections, the PDP charged N5m for its governorship nomination form but jacked up the fee by almost 400 per cent this time around after citing rising costs of printing and logistics.
The screening of the aspirants taking place simultaneously in two venues in Abuja would be followed by primary elections where two standard bearers of the party would emerge.
Aspirants from Bayelsa were undergoing the screening at the PDP national secretariat, while those from Kogi were being screened at Legacy House, the party’s presidential campaign office in Maitama.
Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba State led the screening committee for Kogi, while his counterpart from Oyo State, Mr Seyi Makinde chaired that of Bayelsa.
Speaking with newsmen during the process, Makinde specifically assured that they would be fair to all aspirants with a view to ensuring that the party entered the main election as a strong and united entity.
“We don’t want a situation whereby our party will go into the election with a divided house. We want to go into the election as one big family with a view to retaining the state,” he said.
Speaking with journalists after the screening, former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and governorship aspirant in Bayelsa, Mr Timi Alaibe called on the delegates to think deeply before selecting their candidate.
