Katsina PDP stakeholders in fresh moves to stop Shema’s candidate

Our correspondent learnt that the stakeholders, including six of the aspirants contesting the ticket of the party with Engr. Musa Nashuni who is seen as the Shema’s choice of a successor, held a meeting in Abuja and decided to take action to forestall the move by the governor.

Another group, the Katsina Consultative Forum yesterday also urged the national secretariat of the PDP to look into the allegation and complaints of aggrieved gubernatorial aspirants from the state with a view to giving them justice.
The aspirants have written a petition to the PDP leadership asking it to wade into plans to impose a candidate on the party, saying the action if allowed would cost the PDP the state.
Those at the meeting in Abuja yesterday, according to sources, included Senator Ibrahim Ida as well other stakeholders of the party in the state.
A source who was at the meeting told our correspondent that the meeting noted that the preferred candidate was not known by party members in the state and that it would be difficult selling him to the public for the general elections.
They said even if the governor wanted to decide on somebody who has served in his cabinet to continue his programmes, he should have gone for one that has contributed to the growth of the party in the state and is known to the general public.
“They also pointed out that the choice of a candidate from Kankia would not serve the interest of the party, saying it would introduce a new arrangement in Katsina that would exclude Daura emirate from the scheme of things and would be at variance with the usual practice in the state where the three zones and two emirates are accommodated with the positions of governor, deputy governor and speaker.
“If Nashuni is allowed, it therefore means that only Katsina emirate would provide all the key positions of governor, deputy governor and speaker which would not be fair to the other emirates,” he said.
The meeting, according to the source, resolved that the reality on ground is that the threat of the opposition in Katsina is real and that once the other zones are excluded by the PDP, but are accommodated ition an edge while knocking out the PDP.
Senator Ida when contacted, confirmed that a meeting held but declined to give further details.
Interim chairman of the Katsina Consultative Forum, Ibrahim Coomassie, told newsmen yesterday in Katsina, that the forum was reacting to a petition dated November 2nd 2014 addressed to the chairman  PDP Appeal Committee Ward/Local Government Congresses in Katsina State by a group of seven PDP gubernatorial aspirants complaining against the conduct of the recent party delegates elections in the state.
Coomassie, who was represented by the forum’s coordinator Aliyu Sani, said they have waited thus far believing that the appeal committee will do justice to the petition.