The Kaduna State chapter of the PDP says it has warned aspirants jostling for its governorship tickets against attacking opponents in a bid to curry delegates’ favour.

“We have a code of conduct for the campaigns; we have told the governorship aspirants to focus on issues and avoid character assassination. We told them to speak about themselves and no one else,’’ the party, Mr Hassan Hyat, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Jos.

He advised the aspirants to focus on how they intended to bring back teachers and other workers sacked by the state government, and also spell out how they planned to improve roads and health services.

“We have also told them to speak on the poor state of education, the worsening poverty among the rural populace, agriculture and security.

“The issues confronting Kaduna State are many; by the time an aspirant addresses them, he would not have the time to tell delegates about which of his opponent is facing criminal charges by the EFCC,’’ he said.

Hyat said that 11 aspirants had so far indicated interest in the contest, and named them to include former Kaduna governor Ramallan Yero, former NEMA Director General Sani Sidi, and former House of Representatives member, Isah Ashiru, who recently defected from the APC.

Others included Mohammed Kadade, Bello Kagarko, Jonathan Kish, Shuaibu Mikati, Sani Bello, Ibrahim Dauda, Jafaru Saad and Mohammed Sani.

“From what I hear, more are on the way, but these are the people that have officially communicated their intentions to us,” he said.

Hyat added that he was “pleasantly surprised’’ that so many people were jostling for the ticket of a party that was not in power.

“Going by Nigerian politics, the long list and the calibre of people is rather surprising. We can only conclude that the PDP is attracting such interest because it has become the darling of Nigerians,’’ he said.

The chairman promised to ensure a level playing ground for all aspirants, and advised them to sell themselves and their agenda to PDP members so as to win the ticket at the primary election slated for next month.