The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, on Monday decided to throw open the race for its Presidential ticket ahead of the 2015 general elections.

This was announced by the national publicity secretary of the party, Olisa Metuh, in a statement issued in Abuja. Metuh said all the aspirants who had paid for the Presidential nomination form should come to the national secretariat in Abuja for the form.

In the statement, which reiterated the earlier announced extension of the deadline for the purchase of forms for all positions, the party said, “all aspirants who paid for nomination forms, including the presidential form but are yet to collect same, should come to the PDP national secretariat with verifiable evidence.”

Two presidential aspirants in the party, Abdul Jhalil Tafawa Balewa and Akasuba Duke-Abiola, had, last week, been denied the forms, even after paying the required N22 million and N2 million for male and female aspirants respectively.

While Tafawa Balewa told journalists that he had been asked to come back on Thursday to check for the forms, which he was told were not available, Duke-Abiola on her part, said she was told that only one form was printed and reserved for President Jonathan.