The main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is to have a crucial meeting on Friday to finalise strategies for the conduct of its national Convention kicking off in Port Harcourt, Rivers State on Saturday.

Thirteen aspirants are jostling for the party’s presidential ticket and the party hierarchy is hoping to come up with measures to ensure that the exercise is not only hitch-free but will produce a candidate acceptable to the other defeated contestants.

The meeting, which will take place in the party’s alternate national secretariat, Legacy House, Abuja, is therefore to involve all organs of party including its National Working Committee (NWC), National Caucus and the National Executive Committee (NEC).

Also expected to attend the meeting are all 13 presidential aspirants under the party including Bukola Saraki, Atiku Abubakar, Ibrahim Dankwambo, Rabiu Kwankwaso, Aminu Tambuwal, Ahmed Makarfi, Attahiru Bafarawa, Jonah Jang, David Mark, Sule Lamido, Tanimu Turaki, Datti Baba-Ahmed, and Stanley Osifo.

Barring any last minute consensus among the aspirants, all 13 aspirants are expected to head into the election to attempt to pick the ticket of the party to square up with President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2019 presidential election.

Even though the aspirants have undertaken to abide by the outcome of a credible convention, the party hierarchy is intent on ensuring that there is no post convention crisis that may distract it from heading into the general election in unity.

•Excerpted from a Tribune report

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