The Peoples Democratic party (PDP) in Bauchi State on Sunday assured aspirants of transparent process as it began nomination of candidates for the 31 state constituencies and 12 federal constituencies.
The party had fixed Sunday May 22, for primaries to nominate candidates for state Houses of Assemblies and House of Representatives.
Mr Yayanuwa Zainabari, PDP’s Publicity Secretary in the state, told NAN in Bauchi that the exercise had commenced at about 10:00 in many places across the state.
He said about 50 aspirants jostled for the 12 Federal Constituencies and more than 150 candidates for the 31 state constituencies.
Zainabari said election materials had been deployed to the electoral officers including the delegates’ register composed of names of state delegates and three delegates of the national assembly.
“The exercise for state constituencies will hold in the morning while that of the federal constituencies would take place in the evening starting by 2:00 pm.
“The election will be open ballot voting in presence of security agencies, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials and independent monitors,”
“The exercise will be free and fair. We are not expecting any problem from any of the venues, We have the lists of all accredited delegates. Only those who are accredited will be allowed into the venue,” he said.
The Publicity Secretary said stakeholders of the party had adopted consensus method in some areas while some candidates withdrew from the race.
He reitrated commitment of the party to provide level playing field for all candidates, warning that it would not condone acts capable of disrupting the smooth conduct of the exercise.
“As far as the leadership of PDP is concerned there are no favorite aspirants, the process will be transparent,” he said, and urged the party supporters to remain calm and orderly during the exercise.
NAN reports that the exercise is being conducted peacefully across designated centres in Bauchi metropolis.
(NAN)