Governor Idris of kogi state in-law for state elections

The Peoples Democratic Party Screening Panel for the Kogi State governorship primaries has placed a fresh hurdle before the favoured aspirant for the party’s ticket, Captain Idris Wada.
Wada is an in-law to the governor of the state, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris.
Wada’s younger brother is said to be married to the governor’s daughter.
The aspirant is said to be the anointed candidate of the governor.
Though Wada has been cleared to contest the primaries which will hold in Lokoja on Thursday, his clearance is however provisional as he is said to have just joined the party last week.
The party’s constitution stipulates that aspirants must be a member of the party for one year before they can contest for elective offices unless they get waivers.
Article 8 of the PDP constitution contains eligibility and membership clause. Specifically, Article 8.9 provides, “Persons who desire to rejoin the party after leaving it shall, unless exempted by the National Working Committee, be placed on probation for a period time not less than a year.”
Though there was nothing to show that Wada was once a member of the party. Even at that, he still needs the support of the state chapter of the party to return to the party as stipulated in the party’s constitution.
Article 10(b) 111 reads, “Any member who loses his membership for reasons other than non-payment of annual subscription may be re-admitted on the recommendation of his state chapter of the party made to the National Working Committee, which is subjected to ratification by the National Executive Committee.”
When Wada came to the party’s headquarters in Abuja to pick his nomination form on Wednesday, all the members of the state House of Assembly, led by the Speaker, Mr. Musa Abdullahi, accompanied him to the PDP headquarters to obtain the form.
Apart from Wada, another leading aspirant, Alhaji Jibril Isa, who actually won the last primaries, was also giving a provisional clearance owing to petitions against him.
The screening panel, which was headed by Senator Teslim Folarin, was said to have been presented with petitions by the PDP’s Youth Vanguard in Kogi State calling for the disqualification of Isa.
The group based its arguments on the fact that Isah was sacked as executive director at Afribank Plc during the recapitilisation on August 14, 2009.
Until his removal, Isah was the executive director in charge of treasury and institutional banking with the bank.
When Isah emerged as the party’s candidate in the botched 2011 governorship election, a Lagos-based lawyer, Mr. Festus Keyamo, instituted a case against the party and the candidate asking the court to disqualify Isah based on his sacking from the bank.