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The Akwa Ibom chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday said it had perfected arrangement to organise its congresses with special emphasis on giving women more leadership roles in the state.
The party chairman, Obong Paul Ekpo, who dropped the hint while addressing newsmen in Uyo, added that Akwa Ibom, would from this weekend, begin the processes of electing men and women that would pilot affairs of the PDP right from the ward through the local government to the state levels in the next four years.
He stressed that the exercise would be anchored on the principles of transparency, fairness, equity and inclusion for which the political grouping is renowned in the state.
Ekpo said: “On the token of inclusion, it is the desire of our party to get more women involved in the process of leadership in our party. In accordance with the approved amendments to our constitution, in the forthcoming nominations, we intend to reserve six out of the 17 executive positions for women at the ward level; six out of the 18 seats at the local government level; 13 out of the 39 posts at the state level; three out of the 10 vacancies at the zonal level; and nine out of the 28 spots at the national level.”
The chairman charged stalwarts on adherence to the stipulated guidelines, warning that the party would not condone any act of violence during the exercise.
“We implore all stakeholders to abide by the stipulated guidelines. No iota of violence will be condoned. It is our desire to maintain the new tradition of orderliness, inclusion and peace that we have entrenched in our party in Akwa Ibom.
“In order to ensure that all the processes are conducted orderly and in line with the stipulated guidelines, our party has appointed local government and state coordinating committees which would assist in this regard. We urge all faithful to work with these committees for rancour-free congresses beginning from this Saturday,” he appealed.
Ekpo therefore commended stakeholders and party members for keeping faith with the PDP, noting the resilience and sacrifices had been responsible for the group’s success stories in the state since 1999.