PDP govs take full charge as Fintiri, Ugwuanyi head convention, zoning committees

• Party will return to power in 2023, Elumelu vows
• Elect President without ethnic, religious biases Sheriff urges Nigerians

The Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) National Executive Committee (NEC) rose from its 93rd meeting, yesterday, appointing Governors Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri (Adamawa State) and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu State) as Chairmen of its National Convention Planning Committee as well as Zoning Committee.

The Zoning Committee, which has Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom as Deputy Chairman and Zamfara State Deputy Governor Mahdi Aliyu Mohammed as Secretary, was specifically constituted to zone National Working Committee offices.

Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri is Deputy Chairman of the Convention Planning Committee, while Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde is to serve as Secretary.

The appointments, made up of governors, indicate the determination of the same to take full charge of affairs in the party.

Although all other organs and caucuses of the party were consulted, checks revealed that those organs and caucuses had asked the party’s 13 governors to work together and take responsibility for the affairs of the party.

It was learned that a former President of the Senate, David Mark, might emerge as Chairman of the party’s Board of Trustees later in the year.

Also, Minority Leader in the House of Representatives, Ndudi Elumelu, expressed hopes that with hard work and dedication, PDP would return to power in the 2023 general elections.

He said the only assurance Nigeria has for unity, peace, national cohesion, and economic prosperity is returning PDP to power.

He charged members to make sacrifices as the forthcoming national convention approaches and elect competent national officers who can lead the party to victory.

“In all, one thing is sure; if we work hard and not relent, the PDP will be reinstated to power on May 29, 2023,” he said.

This came as a former Borno State governor, Ali Modu Sheriff, said the only way Nigerians can surmount socio-economic, political, and security challenges is by electing a President without recourse to ethnoreligious and regional sentiments.

The former national chairman of the PDP spoke in Abuja, yesterday, during a meeting with some leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

He said: “Unless we all believe in ourselves as a nation and believe all of us are equal and believe that a good leader will emerge from any part of the country, regardless of his religion, tribe or where he comes from, we will not succeed in getting the country out of her current challenges.”

Sheriff advised: “We must put our differences aside and look for leaders from anywhere. We must also believe that leadership is from God. And that nobody makes himself a leader. It is only when God chooses you to be a leader that you can emerge.”

He explained: “If the man that will bring succour to Nigeria is from a mountain in Ogoja, we should go and look for him. If he is at the far end of Adamawa, we should go and look for him. If he is from Anambra, we should go and look for him. We must do a soul search and look for a leader.”

Sheriff called on Nigerians to focus more on followership rather than leadership, pointing out that followers determine the type of leaders they want.

Zoning has been a thorny issue for the APC. While some members want the next President to emerge from the South of the country, others argue that zoning should be jettisoned, saying it is not provided for in the 1999 constitution.