11th September, 2012
Mrs Kaneng Fulani, wife to the late occupant of the Barkin Ladi constituency seat, Gyang Fulani, has been endorsed as the sole PDP candidate, Dr. Haruna Dabin, chairman of the party said in Jos Tuesday.
Her opponents withdrew from the race, Dabin said.
The party has also cleared two aspirants for the Plateau North Senatorial by-election scheduled for Oct 6. They are Senator John Wash-Pam, Deputy Senate President in the Second Republic and Mr Gyang Pwajok, former Chief of Staff to Governor Jonah Jang.
“The two aspirants were successful at the screening carried out by party officials from the party’s national headquarters on Friday and will slug it out in the primary elections scheduled for September 19,” Dabin said.
The Barkin Ladi state constituency primary will hold on 18 September, for the coronation of Mrs. Fulani.
The two lawmakers – Plateau House of Assembly Majority Leader, Gyang Fulani, and Sen. Gyang Dantong died in a stampede when gunmen attacked mourners at a mass burial in Maseh village in Riyom Local Government Area on July 8.
Dabin also reacted to the calls from Riyom that the Senate seat be reserved for them since the late lawmaker hailed from there.
“Sen. Dantong was a federal representative; he was not elected because he was from Riyom.
“Six local governments make up Plateau North and what the PDP is trying to do is to field a suitable candidate to replace the late law maker who was also PDP.
“So, Riyom cannot to be only loser following the death of Dantong because he represented all the six local governemnts.”
Dabin rejected suggestions that the party had barred its doors against returning members, and described people that defected just to contest elections as “persons of low moral value”.
“Anybody, who left PDP to run for election under another platform, has no moral standing to want to return to the party.
“They should remian where they are because they left the PDP out of their own volition.” (NAN)