By Henry Umoru
ABUJA—PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has told the National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, that if the party fails to resolve the lingering crisis in the South-West, the 2011 general elections will be adversely affected in the zone.

According to a source at PDP’s national secretariat, President Jonathan expressed this worry to Nwodo when the President met with the PDP National Chairman, immediately he arrived from his trip from the United States of America.

Meanwhile, Vanguard also gathered, yesterday, that well over N6 billion has been realised from the sale of expression and nomination forms from its aspirants vying for various political offices.

The source, however, noted that President Jonathan who admitted to the National Chairman at the Sunday meeting of the growing profile of Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, warned that if not nipped in the bud, the main opposition party in the South-West, ACN, could take advantage of the political imbroglio within the family of the PDP and win the states.

The President was said to have told Nwodo to explore all avenues aimed at resolving the crises in these states so as to avoid a situation where the party will miss out.

The source said further that almost all the PDP states in the south -west are having leadership tussle between factions, just as in some states, the factions are either insisting on fresh congresses, or harmonization plan that would create an all inclusive executive in the state chapters, and the governors of these states are saying the party  executives were constituted in proper ways.

On the sale of forms at the PDP National Secretariat, it will be recalled that President Goodluck Jonathan, former Military President Ibrahim Babangida, ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Kwara State Governor, Bukola Saraki, immediate past National Security Adviser, General Aliyu Mohammed Gusau and Sanni Aminu have all picked and submitted the PDP forms.  Over one hundred and seventy persons have so far collected forms for the governorship election, even as the list of Senators, Representatives also swelled up.

It will be recalled that the PDP at its last National Executive Committee NEC meeting  approved the following nomination fees that must be paid by all aspirants as follows:- i.    Presidential a.    Expression of interest-        N  1,000,000,    Nomination forms -N10,000,000 ii. Gubernatorial a.    Expression of Interest        –        N    500,000,b.    Nomination fees -N  5,000,000.iii.    Senatorial N    200,000, N 2,000,000.iv.    House of Representatives expression of interest           –        N    100,000, nomionation form,1,000,000.v.    State House of Assembly,a.    Expression of Interest        – N 100,000 b.    Nomination fees            –        N 500,000. All female aspirants are exempted from paying nomination fees, but are expected to pay the expression of interest fees at every level.