2023: All You Need To Know About PDP Presidential Primary

The 2022 Presidential Primary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is set to hold today, May 28 and ends on May 29 at the Velodrome of the MKO Abiola Stadium in Abuja.

Elected national delegates of Nigeria’s main opposition party are set to choose their presidential candidate who will represent the party in the 2023 general elections.

Naija News reports that 774 elected national delegates and three ad-hoc delegates per ward elected at the ward congress will vote at the presidential primary, bringing the total number to 811 delegates.

This means one person/delegate per local government plus the three ad hoc delegates from the ward congresses will vote at the presidential primary.

The move to hold its presidential primary today meets the June 9 deadline that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had given the political parties to submit the names of their candidates.

The electoral agency had earlier fixed the presidential primary deadline for June 3 before it was extended for six days on Friday and will now end on June 9.

I7 aspirants started the journey to run for the highest office in Nigeria but a few of them did not make am past the screening stage.

Only 15 aspirants qualified to participate in the presidential primary, before the former Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, resigned his PDP membership.

Also, former banker and industrialist, Mohammed Hayatudeen jettisoned his presidential aspiration and withdrew from the race on Friday night.

Following Obi’s resignation from the party and Hayatudeen’s withdrawal, only 13 presidential hopefuls will now take part in the special convention for the primary.

The opposition party will use the indirect mode of primary to elect its presidential flag bearer ahead of the 2023 general elections.

Statutory delegates like Governors, Deputy governors, Party chairmen and other principal officers will not vote during the primary.

Even though the National Assembly has approved that statutory delegates can vote in the amended Electoral Bill 2022 but President Muhammadu Buhari has not signed the amended electoral bill into law.

This means that the PDP statutory delegates will not participate to elect its presidential candidate.

PDP Presidential aspirants until Saturday morning

Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar

Former Senate President and ex-Governor of Kwara State, Bukola Saraki

Former Senate President/SSG, Pius Anyim

Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed

Sokoto State Governor and ex-Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal

River State Governor, Nyesom Wike

Akwa Ibom State Governor, Emmanuel Udom

Former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose

Media Entrepreneur, Dele Momodu

Pharmacist Sam Ohabunwa

Olivia Mariela

Lawyer, Charles Okwudili

Chikwendu Kalu

Cosmos Ndukwe