**As Mark heads C’ttee to reconcile BoT
Ahead of 2019 general elections, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP’s) Northern elders and stakeholders have started profiling possible presidential aspirants of the party for the 2019 presidential election.
Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT), Senator Walid Jibrin who disclosed this on Tuesday when he received members of PDP ward-2-ward on courtesy visit, said the region has commenced the process of identifying a credible candidate from the north to fly the party flag.
“All of us as a party, we agreed that the president of Nigeria should come from the North. I enjoin you to support the North to bring and give you a very capable president, a good qualitative president.
“We are all doing what we can in the North with all the leaders to identify who is the best candidate to rule this country, the best person that will take away power from the ruling party because 2019 is our own, 2019 is for PDP,” Senator Jibrin stated.
He described the return of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to the party as a good omen for the PDP, and said the party was expecting more former PDP members who had left the party.
“We are also expecting a big return of some of our former governors, our National Assembly members and very renowned party followers. And when this is done, which will be done very quickly, then the party will now come to its stable stand.
“We should encourage anybody who has left us to come back and reunite with us. We will not hate anyone or deprive anybody. It is a good omen for this party that we should receive people.
“We are therefore calling on the Senate President (Bukola) Saraki, (Rabiu Musa) Kwankwaso and all our former legislators who have left this party to come back quickly,” the BoT Chairman stated
He disclosed that the BoT has set up internal reconciliation committee headed by former President of the Senate, Senator David Mark, to reconcile members of the board who were at different camps during last year’s PDP National Convention.
“BoT, throughout the campaign, was neutral but some people decided to pitch camp with some aspirants. Because of that we have decided to set a committee,” he disclosed.
Jibrin however, warned members of the factional group, the Fresh PDP to desist from creating further crisis in the party.
“This our party has undergone many trials, trials of leaving the party by some former governors and some party leaders. Followed by the misfortune we have suffered under Ali Modu Sherrif and now one group is coming up again, the so called Fresh PDP.
“I will pray that this PDP (group) will not see the light at all. We are doing all we can to ensure that they do not go anywhere. The suffering we suffered in the party will not be repeated,” Jibrin prayed.
He commended the role PDP governors played in the emergence of Prince Uche Secondus as National Chairman, stating the if not for the governors, the party would not have had successful convention.
“All the eleven governors supported the candidature of Prince Secondus,” he said, and assured that the BoT would discourage every move to create another crisis in the PDP.”
