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PDP chairmanship: Battle shifts to South West

By Sunny Ogefere and Seye Olumide
08 August 2016   |   2:56 am
Despite the hiccups, the main opposition party in Nigeria, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is forging ahead with the quest for a credible leadership that would unify and galvanise it towards ...
Makarfi

Makarfi

• Meets in Akure today to decide on consensus candidate
• Raymond Dokpesi defies zoning, continues campaign

Despite the hiccups, the main opposition party in Nigeria, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is forging ahead with the quest for a credible leadership that would unify and galvanise it towards an impressive outing culminating in a return to power at the centre come 2019.

In particular, the battle for the chairmanship has shifted to the South West as the party has now zoned the office to the region predominantly ruled by the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Already, a meeting of the leaders and stakeholders of the party members from the South West has been scheduled for today in Akure, the Ondo State capital, as part of measures to reach a consensus on an acceptable candidate for the chairmanship.

This has become necessary given the signals from the states that make up the region. The Guardian learnt that the states were sticking to their guns, insisting on producing the chairman.

“We may have people in mind but you know it’s a game of people coming together and reaching a consensus because one person can not produce a chairman even though it is zoned to the South West. This is because the survival of the party depends essentially on the chairman that would emerge,” a stakeholder volunteered yesterday.

According to the stakeholder, everybody has interest in the position of chairman of the party, and “I think the South West is trying to build a consensus so that there will not be a backlash at the end … They are meeting tomorrow (today) to address the issue and have a consensus but it is not going to be easy for them too because from what we saw they have different interests which is expected.”

Another source asserted that most states in the South West were bent on producing the chairman stressing: “Whatever happens, at the end of it all whether they agree or not, they will go and buy forms and other states will get involve and determine who the next chairman will be.”

PDP leaders and stakeholders from Southern part of the country had at a meeting in Port Harcourt, zoned the office of the national chairman, national treasurer and deputy national publicity secretary to the South West geopolitical zone.

The positions of the first deputy national chairman, national Legal Adviser, deputy national Woman Leader and deputy national Auditor went to the South-South, while the South East zone got the national Organising Secretary, National Youth Leader and deputy national Financial Secretary.

The zoning formula technically knocks out Chief Raymond Dokpesi who from the onset has invested resources campaigning round the country, as well as former deputy national chairman, Uche Secondus who has been waiting in the wings for something to happen in his favour.

Dokpesi, who criticized the zoning of the chairmanship to the South West, has however insisted on forging ahead with his campaign to run despite the party’s decision.

As at yesterday he was in Sokoto and Zamfara where he met with some northern leaders asserting that he would be proceeding to Kaduna, Niger and the Federal Capital Territory today.

One of his media aides disclosed to The Guardian his principal has visited 33 states across the country to campaign “the game is still ongoing,” he said.

Dokpesi also disassociated himself from the insinuation that the former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar was behind his ambition.

According to the aide, “it is a blatant lie that has no credibility. My principal is never and would never be a candidate of the ruling party operating in the PDP. He is as independent as the country is. The implications, as our opponents tend to portray, was if Atiku is the one backing Dokpesi, he would be regarded as a mole in the PDP working for the ruling party.”

But skeptics have continue to cast doubt on Dokpesi’s ambition more importantly as he continued to receive endorsement across the north from political bigwigs who were alleged to be playing their usual ethnic game that would eventually favour a northern president, whichever way, come 2019.

Expressing his resentment to the party’s decision, Dokpesi said he doesn’t have any godfather and that he was depending heavily on the delegates to vote for him. “Leaders of the South met and decided to micro-zone to the Southwest.

“These are the same thing we did that brought the party to its knees. I have come here pleading and begging that if I become National Chairman it is me and you that would be chairman.”

Dokpesi said he was emboldened by the massive support from the people; and would be holding on to their words as he goes for the challenge in Port Harcourt.

He said, “It is this assurances that I’ll hold on to as I transverse the length and breadth of the country,” as he called on the party faithful to join in a campaign that is bound to change the face of politics forever in the country.”

Meanwhile, a group in the South West has insisted that the victory of former Deputy Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Bode George in the convention would signal a victory for the party in 2019.

George, who picked his expression of interest form at the party secretariat on Friday, received a boost as stakeholders of Lagos Mainland endorsed him, saying: “Victory for George at the convention would translate to victory for PDP in the 2019 Presidential Election.”

The party chieftains, including former member, Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Tajudeen Agoro, who is also Vice Chairman, PDP Lagos State Central; Alhaji Akande Alimi, the party chairman for Lagos Mainland, Hon. Jide Bob-Taylor, among others canvassed support for Bode George at a parley.

He said, “The man (George) has touched many lives, nobody has his kind of political experience. If we are saying we want to change the changer come 2019, we have to put somebody who has the experience of Chief Bode George as national chairman of our party”.

On his part, Alimi, who is a political associate of late Funsho Williams reiterated that the PDP would be on road to victory in the 2019 Presidential Election if George clinched the coveted position.

“I don’t really see any serious contender against him for that position, I don’t really see it and mind you, politics is all about strength and about intelligence, which George has to his credit”.

He said that he has the requisite qualification to achieve that goal given the mutual respect he enjoys across the membership of the party, including its current and past leaders.

However, George’s ambition would remain hanging, if the Lagos governorship candidate in the 2015 election, Mr. Jimi Agbaje picks his expression of interest form tomorrow as being rumoured.

According to a party source, “Nothing can be foreclosed until the election is concluded. We have been hearing rumour that Agbaje would pick his form tomorrow (Tuesday) and if he does that would be a very strong signal for Bode George to work harder. It is not that Agbaje, as a person could pose threat to George’s ambition but in the circumstance he get the blessings of who-is-who in the party, then the tussle becomes herculean for other aspirants.”

Tentatively, the chairmanship may be narrowed to Lagos and Ogun states, which automatically clears the way for the likes of George, Agbaje and former governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, who is also mentioned to be interested.

However, a former Minister of Education, Prof. Tunde Adeniran, who is from Ekiti appeared not to be bored at all by the image of Chief George or any other aspirant from the zone. He has remained resolute in fighting to the end of the race.

Insisting the PDP’s unity remains his priority, the former minister said it was because of the bridges he had built across all the party’s divides that eminent citizens of the country from other part of the country had backed his candidacy.

His words: “I am a friend of all, leaders and followers. I don’t have enemies. The truth is that when some people don’t have nothing to say, my warm relationships with eminent Nigerians become the story.”

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