Some of the governorship aspirants had written a petition urging the party not to grant waivers to Mr. Ribadu and two other aspirants who only recently defected to the party.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said it cleared all the 14 governorship aspirants in Adamawa State because they all met the requirements to participate in the primary. Consequently, the party said it had approved waivers for a retired Army General, Buba Marwa, an engineer, Marcus Gundiri, and former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Nuhu Ribadu, to enable them to take part in the exercise.
Olisa Metuh, the PDP’s national publicity secretary, disclosed the decision at a media briefing after the meeting of the party’s National Working Committee.
“After very careful and thorough consideration of all applications and the report of the Alhaji Abubakar Mustapha-led Adamawa State PDP Governorship Waiver Committee, the NWC was satisfied that all the aspirants met the requirements stipulated by the PDP constitution to participate in the process,” said Mr. Metuh.
He added: “Consequently, waiver has been granted to General Buba Marwa, Engineer Marcus Gundiri and Malam Nuhu Ribadu to take part in the exercise.
“The NWC hereby restates its confidence in the leadership of the National Chairman, Ahmadu Adamu Mu’azu, in providing a level playing ground for all eligible citizens of the state to participate in the democratic process.
"It assures that the nomination process, including screening of aspirants as well as the primary election, will be conducted with utmost transparency and strict adherence to rules and the principles of justice, fairness and equity.
"Finally, the NWC debunks speculations that its members were divided on the grant of the waiver and reiterates that the decision to open the space for wider participation was unanimously adopted after very extensive deliberations.”
Some of the governorship aspirants had written a petition urging the party not to grant waivers to Mr. Ribadu and two other aspirants who only recently defected to the party.