The Board of Trustees (BoT) of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has warned its members against identifying or campaigning for any of the 13 presidential aspirants of the party.
The body is also seeking means of reducing the large number of aspirants jostling for the party’s ticket for the 2019 presidential election.
Rising from a marathon meeting in Abuja on Thursday, the BoT expressed concerns that some of its members have been going behind the scene to campaign for some of the presidential aspirants.
Briefing newsmen shortly after the meeting, the chairman of the BoT, Senator Walid Jibrin, reminded members of their role as conscience of the party, saying the body might be forced to take disciplinary actions against errant members.
Jibrin said, “If you are a member of BoT, you remain the conscience of the party and you should not be moving about with any aspirant.
“If we are really the conscience of the party, we should not move about with aspirants. That was what happened during the last national convention when we elected the national chairman.
“Some of us went and pitched camps with aspirants, taking them all over the place. This time, we will not allow that to happen.
“Anyone of us who moves about with any aspirant should resign from the BoT. We are the ones that will settle the complaints. But if we are involved, then it will not be fair. So we have told our members not to campaign with the aspirants because we are also the delegates”.
Jibrin said the meeting also discussed ways of persuading some of the party’s 13 aspirants to withdraw from the race, to avoid crisis that the selection process might trigger.
He however said no aspirant would be forced to withdraw from the race, adding that the BoT would set up a committee to work on the aspirants with the view to convincing them to reduce their number.
“We are recommending that we have to manage the situation very well to ensure that it does not lead to crisis. The presidential aspirants are 13 in number so we are trying our best to ensure a reduction in the number.
“But we are not going to force anybody to withdraw from the race, as consultations among party elders are still ongoing. We are going to bring out a committee that will work in the best interest of Nigerians.
“We are forming a committee to meet with the aspirants. After that we will decide on what to do. We have decided to form a special committee to advise the National Working Committee ((NWC) of the party.
“We are ready to confront all the rigging that happened in the last convention and to ensure free and fair elections during the upcoming presidential primaries. There should be no impunity. There should be no godfatherism”.