Date Published: 12/08/10

PDP to give automatic tickets to Senators, Reps, says Nwodo

After weeks of nocturnal meetings between the leadership of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its federal lawmakers, National Chairman of the party, Okwesilieze Nwodo, announced on Wednesday that the party has concluded arrangement to give automatic ticket to Senators and members of the House of Representatives “that have performed”.

Speaking at the opening of a two-day capacity building training for female aspirants of the PDP at Bolingo Hotel, Abuja, Nwodo, said it was time the country progressed from learning process to consolidating democracy by ensuring continuity especially on the part of elected officials.

But these officials, he added, must the ones that were able to deliver on promises made to their constituents. “We have said it at the party secretariat and at the National Assembly when we went to meet members of the House of Representatives and the Senators, the party said that we as a party want to grow this democracy and in trying to grow democracy, what we need to do is to have some form of continuity and therefore, we will like as many members of parliament who are performing and who are also acceptable to some extent in their constituencies to come back. “Unless we do that, we will continue our learning process.”

He disclosed that female federal lawmakers will also benefit from the automatic ticket arrangement as the party has reserved 35 per cent slots for them at all levels. “Everyday we are learning; we would stop learning. We have to build and consolidate the democratic institution. “So, in doing that, I think the next thing I am going to push for is that in returning as many parliamentarians as possible, at least those who are women, we should guarantee their seats.

“When we sit down with the leadership of our party, and we begin to look at those parliamentarians we have to return due to their performance because we want continuity in parliament and the growth of the democratic institution, we should be looking at those women we can return and how we can actualise our 35 per cent that I promise we will do,” Nwodo added.

By Obiora Ifoh Assistant Editor, Abuja