Nigeria Content Online

In spite of
uncertainties over his membership status in the People’s Democratic
Party (PDP), former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, yesterday declared
that there is no cause for alarm over the waiver that will determine
his eligibility for the party’s presidential primaries.

Mr Atiku spoke with
the press after an inspection of the party’s secretariat which was
damaged by fire last week, and a closed-door meeting with national
chairman, Okwesilieze Nwodo, which lasted for more than 45 minutes.

Mr Atiku said that
the issue of his waiver did not come up during the meeting, saying that
their discussions centred on the “state of affairs” of the party.

“The issue of
waiver is left for the party leadership,” he said. “You people are
always with the party leadership and should find out and let me know
their position, which other Nigerians are interested in knowing, too.”

Constitutional obstacles

Mr Atiku left the
Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) to join the PDP in April, but faces a
number of restrictions within the party’s constitution before he is
eligible to run for office on its platform.

Article 8.9 of the
PDP’s constitution specifies that anyone who rejoins the party will be
placed on a year-long probation, unless granted a waiver by the party’s
executive committee. The party’s constitution also demands that
returnees have to be recommended for a waiver by the party’s chapter in
their state of origin.

However, the Adamawa State chapter of the PDP has distanced itself
from the former vice president. In addition, Mr Atiku was not on the
list of those granted waivers at the party’s National Executive
Committee (NEC) meeting last month