Ahead of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Convention slated for 30th and 31st October, the northern stakeholders unanimously adopted former President of the Senate Dr Iyorchia Ayu as their consensus candidate for the position of national chairman.
Before this, the North Central stakeholders drawn from Kogi, Niger, Kwara, Plateau, Benue states and Federal Capital Territory, had Tuesday, at Benue state Governor’s Lodge in Abuja, unanimously adopted Ayu as their consensus candidate for the position of national chairman.
Chairman of PDP zoning committee and governor of Enugu state, Mr Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, last week recommended that “…the current offices being held by officers in the Southern Zones of the country, namely, South West, South East and South-South zones, should swap places with the offices currently in the northern zones of Nigeria, namely, North West, North East and North Central zones.”
Going by the committee’s recommendation, whosoever emerges consensus candidate of the North may become the next national chairman of the opposition party.
Blueprint gathered that after Wednesday’s stalemate at the northern stakeholders’ meeting due to what a source called communication gap, the governors and other leaders reconvened to take a firm decision on the aspiration of former Katsina state Governor Ibrahim Shema, outgoing PDP deputy national chairman north, Senator Sulieman Nazif and former Senate President Ayu.
After a few hours’ meeting at Bauchi state Governor’s Lodge, Abuja Thursday, Chairman Convention Planning Committee who also doubles as Chairman 20-man committees on Northern Consensus candidate, Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri declared Ayu as the north’s candidate for the position of national chairman.
Fintri revealed that other aspirants from other zones willingly stepped down for Ayu.
He said: “There is no vanquished, there is no victor in this meeting. We all came out united. Out of the three northern candidates that all the three zones produced, the candidates themselves in the spirit of unity and togetherness, in the spirit of ensuring that PDP emerges and benefits from our efforts, so that we can win together for a Nigerians the 2023 general elections, stepped down.
“Distinguished Senator Dr Iyorchia Ayu has emerged as a consensus candidate of the north. With this, we are fully prepared, we are ready. We will be talking with our colleagues from other parts of the country, especially the south that they see reasons for this consensus candidate and give us support during the 30 and 31 convention of PDP.”
The Adamawa state governor also added that ” all of them were immensely qualified but through discussion and reconciliation, we have emerged with consensus list that was endorsed by the candidates themselves. There was no election and there was no selection.”
Winning ways back – Ayu
Accepting the task, Ayu, a former minister of industry assured party faithful that PDP would be back to its winning ways.
He said: “It is my singular honour to accept the responsibilities which has been put on my shoulders from the North. I believe that at the end of the day, it will not only be the North, but it will be all Nigerians. The PDP will be back to its winning ways. And we will work tirelessly after the convention to rebuild the party to take over power to rebuild the country.
“I believe all Nigerians want a PDP government. Our 16 years moved this country forward. We intend to work together with all the leaders, not only in the North but across the country to reposition this country for the next generation of Nigerians.”
Senator Ayu said if elected party chairman, his leadership “will be an all-inclusive administration of the party. We will work collectively to produce policies which will be acceptable to all Nigerians. Today, our currency is the weakest in the world. Even the Somalians are better than us in Africa. We will work to solve hard to solve the issue of insecurity.
“I want to thank the leaders of the North, who are united, determined and who are willing to work with me. I am a foundation member of this party. I worked in the party before, but I know that you cannot do it alone.
“We shall work as a team. And I believe with the support of Nigerians who have suffered in the hands of a party that does not exist, of a party that does not care for the youths of Nigeria, of a party that doesn’t care for anybody but themselves, the victory, we shall achieve and administer to this country to the greater glory of God.”
S/west chapter in disarray
However, it was a different scenario in the south-west chapter of the party, as stakeholders and leaders slugged it out with the Oyo state governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde, over national offices.
Blueprint gathered that the south micro-zoned the party’s deputy national chairman (South), National Publicity Secretary and Deputy National Secretary to the south-west.
Our correspondent gathered that the governor was allegedly determined to ensure his loyalists occupy all the offices micro-zoned to south-west.
But former governor of Ekiti state, Ayo Fayose and other stakeholders, said our sources, “rejected the move.”
Although the source was silent on time and venue of the meeting, the parley may have held in Ibadan.
Blueprint also observed that though the stakeholders do not have issues with the distribution of offices zoned to the south-west; but they are not happy with the alleged move by Makinde to impose former Osun state governor, Olagunsoye Oyinlola on them as deputy national chairman.
A source who is also one of the leaders in the zone who does not want his name in print, explained that rewarding Oyinlola with “such a lofty position” in the NWC means that party loyalty is a vice, not a virtue.
He said: “We in the Osun state chapter of our party prefer Professor Wale Oladipo as deputy national chairman (South) of our great party. When Oyinlola left the PDP to team up with like-minds to bring President Muhammadu Buhari on us, others stayed put to rebuild the party. One of such persons is Professor Oladipo. He replaced Oyinlola as National Secretary of the PDP.
“We gathered that even his colleague governors are not happy with his dictatorial dispositions. Let me put it this way that we are not fighting the governor. No one raised a voice about how positions zoned to the region were distributed, but we don’t want Oyinlola. As a listening leader that we think he is, the governor should listen to us and do the needful,” he said.
