Anambra guber: PDP panel clears 16 aspirants for primaries

By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja

All the sixteen aspirants, who picked the expression of interest and nomination forms of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for the Anambra State governorship scheduled for November 6 this year, have been cleared for the primaries of the party.
The PDP primaries for the Anambra governorship election is slated to hold on June 26, this year.
The PDP committee, which screened the aspirants about three weeks ago, was headed by a former Governor of Kogi State and pilot, Captain Idris Wada.
Wada, in an exclusive interview with the Peoples Daily at the weekend in Abuja, confirmed that all the aspirants were found suitable and have been given the nod by his committee to participate in the PDP primaries for the Anambra governorship election.
Wada specifically explained that the aspirants were all successful going by all the parameters used by his committee.
The aspirants cleared include; Senator Uche Ekwunife, Dr Obiora Okonkwo, Mr Godwin Ezeemo, Mr Valentine Ozigbo, Hon. Chris Azubogu,
Okeke Walter Ubaka, Barr. (Mrs) Chidi Onyemelukwe, Mr Tony Nwoye, Mr Winston Udeh and Dr Ifedi Okwena.
Others were; Mr Godwin Maduka, Mrs Ekwochi Genevieve, Mr Ugochukwu Uba, Mr Emeka Etiaba, Hon Nzeribe Marcellinus Chukwumaeze and Chief Maduafokwa Olisakwe Johnny Eisenhower.
The Screening committee Chairman explained that due checks were carried out on all the aspirants in the course of the screening exercise, stressing that no stone was left unturned.
His words, “I can confidently tell you that we have concluded our assignment and have submitted our report to the National Organising Secretary of the PDP, Col. Austin Akobundu, rtd, who inaugurated our committee in the first instance.
“ We submitted the report of our committee to him few days ago, behind closed door because he didn’t want any noise made about it.
“In the course of our assignment, we wrote to all relevant investigating agencies as well anti-graft bodies concerning the aspirants. We didn’t want to leave anything to chances.
“ At the end of our findings, all the aspirants scaled through and have been given the nod to participate in our party’s primaries for the Anambra governorship election”, he explained.
Each of the aspirants coughed out the sum of twenty-one (21) million naira to obtain the two forms. This is aside from another five (5) million naira each of them paid at the Anambra State office of the party.