No automatic ticket in PDP if… – Baraje

By Demola Akinyemi

ILORIN – Acting National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alh Abubakar Baraje has said the party has established a tradition whereby an incumbent governor, or any other elected member of the party, will not be given an automatic second term ticket as long as there are issues that negatively affect their candidature and violate the constitution of the party.

Baraje spoke with journalists in Ilorin, yesterday, at his GRA residence in a media parley to mark the end of the year. He stressed that the constitution of the party is supreme in all issues as was demonstrated in the case in Sokoto gubernatorial primaries where a Zamfara State officer, who petitioned the governor, was suspended in accordance with the party’s constitution.

He explained that the incumbent governor of Bayelsa State was dropped because of an established petition against him which bothered on his integrity and with respect to security of the state, stressing that his exclusion was necessary because he is the number one security man in the state.

Baraje also explained that the petition by some aggrieved members of the party in Kwara State, which bothers on the breach of constitution with respect to the appointments of the state Chairman, Alh Balogun Fulani, and his Secretary, Prince Yemi Afolayan, among others, was based on the advise of the party when consulted at the time he was the secretary of the party.

He  admitted that security was a great challenge for the government and PDP.