Rivers PDP adopts option A4 for LG primaries

Bolaji Ogundele, Port Harcourt - 11.02.2008

As a move to ensure transparency in choosing candiates for the forthcoming local government election in the state, the Rivers State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has concluded plans to adopt open-secret ballot in its primaries which begins today.

Already, the procedure, also known as Option A4, is being embraced by party members who see it as a means of eliminating electoral manipulation and imposition of candidates.

Speaking at the stakeholders meeting in Port Harcourt at the weekend, the Rivers State Chairman of the party, Prince Uche Secondus, disowned the primaries held during the tenure of erstwhile governor, Celestine Omehia, saying the standard bearers did not emerge through due process.

According to him, the state chapter had been mandated to conduct fresh primaries in the state before February 17, and that forms for the exercise were already on sale.

The intention of the party to conduct fresh primaries is also generating ripples among party members, but Secondus said he did not endorse the list of the purported candidates sent to the former Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC).