A 2023 presidential aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party and the immediate past Deputy Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Cosmos Ndukwe, on Thursday, says he was unaware of his purported disqualification by the PDP National Screening committee chaired by an ex-President of the Nigerian Senate, David Mark.
AFRIPOST recalls that the Peoples Democratic Party had announced the disqualification two out of seventeen presidential aspirants namely, former lawmaker, Cosmas Ndukwe, and a US-based medical doctor, Nwachukwu Anakwenze.
David Mark, the chairman of the 9-men PDP Screening Committee and former President of the Nigerian Senate, who disclosed this, while briefing newsmen after the execrise last Friday in Abuja, did not disclose the reasons for their disqualification, but simply said they did not meet the requirements.
He also noted that the two aspirants will not be refunded their N40m fees paid for nomination and expression of interest forms.
However, when contacted in phone by AFRIPOST correspondent on Thursday morning, over the latest action by the party, the Abia-born PDP Presidential aspirant, Ndukwe maintained that the party leadership has not communicated the development to him, as he would not comment further on the disqualification carried out by the screening committee Constituted by the national leadership to screen the seventeen persons jostling for the presidential seat ticket of the main opposition PDP in the upcoming primaries.
His words, “I’m not aware of any disqualification by the party leadership, so, i cannot react to that, untill the party leadership communicated that to me”.
Meanwhile, a Federal High Court in Abuja, presided by Justice Donatus Okorowo on Thursday shifted to the May 10 hearing in a suit seeking to stop the planned May 28 presidential primary election of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The judge put off the determination of the case following complaints by counsel to the plaintiff, Paul Erokoro, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) to the effect that an affidavit by PDP showing cause on why the primary should not be stopped was served on him late on Wednesday.
Justice Okorowo subsequently shifted the hearing to May 10 and ordered parties to file and exchange their processes ahead of the day.
It would be recalled that 2023 presidential aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former Deputy Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly, Cosmas Ndukwe, had on April 28, 2022, brought an ex-parte application for an order of injunction restraining the PDP from proceeding with its scheduled primary election pending the hearing and determination of his suit challenging the position of the party on the issue of zoning its presidential ticket.