Breaking: Atiku Abubakar Emerges PDP Presidential Candidate (See complete result).

Alhaji Atiku Abubaka

Former Vice President and presidential aspirant Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has emerged the winner of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Primary to elect the Party’s candidate for the 2019 Presidential election held on October 6 and 7, 2018 in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Atiku Abubakar emerged winner with 1,532 votes to beat the eleven other contestants with his closest rival, Governor Aminu Tambuwal securing 693 votes. Others are Senate President Dr. Bukola Saraki 317 votes, former Kano State Governor Senator Kwankwaso 153 votes, Governor Dakwambo 111 votes, while former Jigawa State Governor Alhaji Sule Lamido came 7^th with 96 votes. 

Others are: former PDP National Caretaker Committee Chairman Ahmed Markafi 74 votes, Hammed Turaki, SAN 65 votes, former Senate President David Mark 35 votes, Alhaji Bafarawa 28 votes, former Plateau State Governor Jonah Jang 19 votes and  Datti Baba 5 votes. The vote counting was concluded at about 12:20 pm on Sunday.

Announcing the results of the election, the Chairman of the Convention Committee and Delta State Governor Patrick Okowa stated that there were a total of 3,221 accredited delegates with 68 void votes and then declared Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as the PDP Presidential candidate for the 2019 presidential election.

Interestingly, the top five positions in the contest were occupied by aspirants who recently defected back to the PDP from the APC as they performed better in the election than those who did not leave the Party in 2014, including the former chairman of the Caretaker Committee, Ahmed Markafi who scored 74 votes.

In his acceptance speech, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar described the presidential primary election as the most credible and transparent party primary election since 1998 and then thanked his fellow contestants for their sportsmanlike spirit with which they pursued their various ambitions and then sought their support in the task ahead.

Giving a vote of thanks, Senate President Dr. Bukola Saraki thanked the Governor Okowa led Convention Committee for conducting a credible and transparent primary election and then congratulated the winner, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. He pledged on behalf of the other contestants, the support and cooperation of the other contestants to ensure the Party’s victory in the 2019 presidential election.

In his closing speech, PDP National Chairman Prince Uche Secondus thanked the Convention Committee for a job well done and invited the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to learn from the PDP, how to conduct free, fair and credible election devoid of manipulations and intimidation by security agencies. He promised that the PDP will run a credible and issue based campaign in its quest to win the 2019 presidential election.