*Sets December 10 Deadline for Submission of Agents’ Names
By Myke Uzendu, Abuja
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has urged its state chapters to carefully screen prospective party agents ahead of the 2027 general elections, warning against appointing individuals with divided loyalty who could compromise the party’s interests during the polls.
The party’s National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature, gave the charge on Thursday during a Train-the-Trainers workshop for party agents at the PDP national headquarters in Abuja.
Bature cautioned that individuals who might defect to rival parties or collaborate with political opponents should not be entrusted with the responsibility of representing the PDP at polling units.
He urged party officials to identify and appoint committed members, stressing that the party had previously experienced situations in which agents allegedly worked for opposing interests, leaving its candidates vulnerable during elections.
“Please patronise those who are dedicated to this party. A lot of people are out there dedicated to this party. Please fish them out and select them as agents,” he said.
Bature described the exercise as critical to the electoral process, noting that the party must avoid administrative difficulties experienced during the submission of candidates’ details to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
He expressed concern over what he described as challenges encountered in the party’s dealings with INEC, particularly following a Supreme Court judgment, and said the PDP would not want similar difficulties to affect the registration of its agents.
According to him, while INEC’s deadline for uploading agents was believed to be December 17, the party had agreed to set an earlier internal deadline to ensure timely submission and verification.
He announced December 10 as the final date for the submission of agents’ nominations following a voice vote from participants and directed state officials to ensure that all required information was provided before the deadline.
“I don’t want to hear stories after December 10 that somebody has not uploaded, or somebody is bringing late upload,” he said.
Bature explained that state officials would be responsible for collecting and uploading the details of nominated agents through the party’s process, while the national leadership would handle the subsequent submission to INEC.
He said the required information would include the agents’ names, designated polling units and photographs, which would be used for identification on their accreditation tags.
The organising secretary also warned nominated agents against handing over their identification tags to rival political parties, describing such conduct as a potential threat to the party’s electoral interests.
He encouraged participants to seek clarification whenever they encountered difficulties, adding that INEC offices in the states could provide technical assistance where necessary.
Bature urged the state representatives to take the training seriously and ensure that only suitable and trustworthy party members were nominated.
Adding his voice, the National Publicity Secretary, Jugundo Mohammed stressed that winning the upcoming election starts from what happens that the polling units.
He called on participants to nsire that the process of nomination of party agents was not compromised.
The workshop was attended by eight state secretaries, 21 organising secretaries and 25 information and communication technology (ICT) officers and they were trained on the process of uploading party agents’ details to the relevant portal.
