PDP Convention: Visitors Stranded As Aspirants Overbook Hotels In Port Harcourt

It was only Thursday – two days to the showdown – but hotels in Port Harcourt were so occupied that visitors who arrived ahead of Saturday’s national convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are at the risk of being stranded .

A Premium Times survey of both luxury and budget accommodations in the Rivers State capital shows that presidential aspirants have booked virtually all rooms accessible in the metropolis, and many who only arrived between Thursday afternoon and evening have not been able to find anywhere to check into as of 8:50 p.m. Thursday .

Hotels association executives gave Premium Times an estimated 520 hotels in Rivers State, with over 80 per cent of them concentrated in Port Harcourt .

The PDP is holding a national convention on October 6-7 to choose its presidential candidate at Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium, about 12 kilometres north of Port Harcourt city centre .

The 12 candidates are: Atiku Abubakar, Ahmed Makarfi, Aminu Tambuwal, Datti Baba-Ahmed, Attahiru Bafarawa, Sule Lamido, Bukola Saraki, Sule Lamido, David Mark, Jonah Jang, Kabiru Turaki and Rabi Kwankwaso. They have all expressed confidence in their individual abilities to clinch the ticket and face President Muhammadu Buhari as the main challenger in the general election next February.