Armed police officers on Saturday prevented visitors from accessing the A-Class Event Centre, Abuja, where a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by Kabiru Turaki planned to hold a special national convention to ratify former President Goodluck Jonathan as its sole presidential candidate.
The faction, however, moved the convention to another venue where it presented the Certificate of Return to Mr Jonathan through his representative.
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The police officers had barricaded the event centre with patrol vans and blocked the two roads leading to the venue from the Wuse and Maitama Districts.
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) had on Friday warned event centres and hotels in territory not to provide their facilities to factions of political parties not recognised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for conventions and other political activities.
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The FCTA said failure to comply with the directive could result in the revocation of the title documents of such properties.
The PDP is currently split into two factions, with one led by Abdulrahman Mohammed and backed by the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike and the other led by Mr Turaki, who served as special duties minister in the Jonathan administration.
In response, the Turaki-led faction said it would not be intimidated or deterred from holding the special national convention to ratify its presidential candidate.
The Wike-backed faction, which INEC recognises, has nominated a former senator, Sandy Onor, as its presidential candidate, while the Turaki faction has adopted Mr Jonathan as its candidate earlier this month.
While Mr Onor has accepted the nomination and urged party members to support his candidacy, Mr Jonathan has remained silent on his adoption by the rival faction
Faction holds convention in private apartment
Despite the police action, the Turaki faction proceeded with the convention. After being denied access to the original venue, Mr Turaki led party members to a private apartment in Owo Close, Area 10, Garki District of Abuja, where the exercise was conducted.
At the new venue, the ratification process was carried out hurriedly. The motion to ratify Mr Jonathan’s candidacy was moved by the Chairman of the Forum of PDP State Chairmen, Tony Aziegbemi, and seconded by a former Minister of Aviation, Sanusi Dagash.
Moving the motion, Mr Aziegbemi said the party, having conducted its primaries across the states, had reached a collective decision to ratify the former president as its sole candidate for the 2027 presidential election.
“The PDP, having conducted free and credible primary elections in the 36 states, hereby at this special convention, adopts Jonathan as the sole candidate for the 2027 presidential election”, he declared.
Majority of the delegates, thereafter supported the motion and was subsequently ratified.
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Mr Jonathan was, however, conspicuously absent at the convention.
The certificate of return was presented to a member of the House of Representatives, Fred Agbedi, ffrom Bayelsa State, for onward transmission to the former president.
Several PDP chieftains attended the convention, including the Chairman of the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT), Adolphus Wabara, Jerry Gana, and the party’s Oyo State governorship candidate, Taofeek Arapaja.
