Niger PDP Postpones Guber Primary over Protests by Aspirants

* Fixes Thursday for exercise
Laleye Dipo in Minna

The governorship primary of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Niger State has been postponed as a result of protests by some of the aspirants.
The exercise has now been fixed for Thursday.
THISDAY reports that the postponement was after all delegates from the 25 local government areas had assembled and commenced accreditation before some aspirants raised observation on means of identification.
Four of the aspirants — Alhaji Sani Idris Kutigi, Alhaji Sidi Abdul, Mr Abdulrahman Gimba (former Minister of Sports) and Mr Abubakar Isah Jankara — had threatened to stage a walkout if their demand of ensuring proper identification of all the proposed 800 delegates was not acceded to.

The aspirants later held an emergency meeting in one of the offices in the party’s secretariat, culminating in a meeting with the chairman of the state electoral panel and Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Mr. Lawrence  Ewhrudjakpo, on their decision to pull out of the contest.
Kutigi, who later spoke on behalf of other aggrieved aspirants, said the exercise could only go ahead if each of the delegates can properly identify themselves with either a national driver’s licence, national identity card or international passports.