Few hours to the ward congresses of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) across the country, three governorship aspirants of the party in Kaduna State have accused the state party leadership of employing tactical moves to hijack the exercise in order to favour the incumbent governor, Mukhtar Yero who is also among those jostling for the PDP ticket in 2015.

Addressing journalists on Friday, the aspirants – a former minister of aviation, Hassan Hyat, a former Secretary to the State Government, Lawal Yakawada and a former Senator, Zigo Aziz – accused the state working committee of the party of undue favouritism it has showed to the incumbent governor, Mukhtar Yero. They insisted that the working committee had hijacked the delegates forms to ensure that other aspirants do not get them.

They stated that the congress scheduled to hold across the 255 wards in the state on Saturday would be a flop, as the state governor in connivance with the state party leadership has hijacked the forms for aspiring delegates to the congress, lamenting that as party stakeholders and aspirants in the governorship race, they had no access to the forms for the delegates even few hours before the ward congresses.

They expressed fears that, going by the way the party had shut out other aspirants from having access to the delegates forms, the scheduled congress would not be transparent and fair and urged the national leadership of the party to wade into the matter and call the state chapter of the party to order.

The aspirants further alleged the deliberate and mischievous underhand tactics by the state PDP chairman, Chief Abubakar Haruna who allegedly ensured that forms for aspiring delegates were denied them by the party.

They said that even though no assuring answer had been gotten from the PDP leadership in both the state and national level on the complete absence of the forms to those who want to purchase them, they however, appealed to all aspiring ward delegates and stakeholders in all the 255 wards of Kaduna state to come out tomorrow to take part in the congress at their various wards.

However, in a telephone interview, the state PDP chairman, Abubakar Haruna denied the allegation, insisting that every aspirant will be given a level playing ground.