PDP Against Imposition of Candidates- Metuh

The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Mr Olisa Metuh has assured party members that the party leadership would not allow the imposition of candidates on members in any state of the federation.

Metuh gave the assurance on Thursday in Abuja while addressing some aggrieved Ijaw youths from Rivers who stormed the party national headquarters to protest against an alleged plan to impose an indigene on the people of the state.

“Our party is against consensus candidate and any idea of intimidating the people. There should be no intimidation and coercion”, the PDP spokesman declared, promising that party members would be given the opportunity to elect and nominate aspirants of their choice who would eventually become the party`s candidates for elections in 2015. “We are promising you that that is what will happen in Rivers and every single state of the federation, he added.

But in what appears contrary to the PDP spokesman’s declaration, PDP governors and the Board of Trustees had last month adopted Jonathan as the party’s consensus candidate for the presidential election. The adoption is however expected to be ratified at the party’s convention later this year.

But Metuh said today that the party would continue to uphold true democratic tenets and principles in its nomination processes, advising the youths to motivate and mobilise their people to come out and vote for their candidates in the 2015 general elections.

Mr Oni Quakers from Kalabari, who spoke on behalf of the youths, said they were protesting the imposition of Ikwere indigenes on the people as the state`s next governor. He stressed that Ikweres had ruled the state for 16 years, adding that it was time for the Ijaws to rule the state.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the PDP National Presidential Campaign Office, venue of the PDP South South Integration Committee’s sitting, was besieged by aggrieved members.