PDP Chair: Mahdi, Wakil, Waziri on Governors Shortlist Chuks Okocha A clearer picture of the battle to succeed Alhaji Bamanga Tukur who resigned as Peoples Democratic Party National Chairman on Thursday emerged last night. With the ceding of the plum position to the North-east states of Yobe and Borno, five candidates have been shortlisted by the three governors and one deputy governor (Bala James Ngilari, Adamawa State) of the party in the geopolitical zone. THISDAY learnt that those on the shortlist from Borno State are Hon. Mohammed Wakil, Senator Abubakar Mahdi, Senator Mohammed Abba-Aji, Alhaji Gambo Lawan, Alhaji Abba Gana, while only Alhaji Adamu Maina Waziri is from Yobe State. President Goodluck Jonathan has scheduled a meeting with the PDP governors for 8 pm today to take a final decision on the list. In the meantime, the party has written to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), notifying the commission of Tukur’s resignation as chairman and its decision to pick a new chairman at a Special National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting tomorrow. PDP and Presidency sources told THISDAY that at the meeting with President Jonathan last night in Abuja, Governors Isa Yuguda (Bauchi State) and Ibrahim Dankwambo (Gombe State), Acting Governor of Taraba State Garba Umar and Deputy Governor of Adamawa State asked the president to make a choice of who would be the national chairman from the six shortlisted names. The governors, it was gathered, ruled out their states from the race, but pledged their support for any person that may eventually emerge as chairman from Borno and Yobe states axis of the North-east geo political zone. It was also gathered that before the governors left the meeting, they agreed that a consensus option would be the best option to adopt for the emergence of the next PDP chairman. This method, they reasoned, remains the best way to avoid further division within the party that may come with using an election to determine the eventual chairman. One of the North-east governors that attended the meeting told THISDAY: “We met the President and urged him to make his choice,” stating also that some candidates’ names and their pedigrees have been submitted to President Jonathan to make his choice from as the national leader of the party before Monday special NEC meeting. According to the governor, “four names from Borno State and one from Yobe State have been submitted to the President,” but he refused to disclose the names. But THISDAY learnt that those on the shortlist are Abba-Aji, Wakil, Mahdi, Lawan, Gana and Waziri. Of the names submitted in respect of Borno State, Mahdi, Wakil and Abba-Aji are described as the main contenders. Age and experience are said to be in favour of Wakil who was House of Representatives Majority Leader between 1999 and 2003. He is 48 years old and has a close working relationship with President Jonathan. He has worked variously as acting national vice-chairman for the party in the North-east and almost in all the committees set up by PDP on issues that affect that geopolitical zone. Abba-Aji has worked variously as the Managing Director of the NSITF and recently as Special Adviser to late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and President Jonathan on National Assembly Matters. He resigned to contest the election for the office of national chairman of PDP in March 2012 but lost. He is known to be a team player and a loyal PDP stalwart. Mahdi was previously a member of the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM), an association of political associates of late Shehu Musa Yar’Adua but refused to leave PDP like former Vice- President Atiku Mohammed whom he is close to. He is also said to be close to the Chairman of PDP Board of Trustees, Chief Tony Anenih, who is believed to be rooting for him to emerge as chairman. Lawan was formerly national chairman of the Grassroots Democratic Movement, one of the five political parties of the late General Sani Abacha era. He also contested for PDP chairmanship in 2012. The only candidate on the list from Yobe is Waziri. His political pedigree speaks for him as he was at various times Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Police Affairs. Waziri is one of those whose property was burnt in Potiskum, allegedly because of his loyalty to President Jonathan. He was also the governorship candidate of PDP in the 2003 and 2007 elections in the state. The governor, who spoke to THISDAY, added that, “where it is not possible to get a consensus candidate, then the election would be thrown open to all the six states of the North-east”. He, however, maintained that the party would not want to create an avenue for the type of clash that occurred between Tukur and Governor Murtala Nyako or the clash between former PDP chairman Dr. Okwesileze Nwodo and Enugu State Governor Sullivan Nwodo because the chairmen emerged states with PDP governors. At press time last night, some of the candidates were seen visiting the governors and some National Assembly members to solicit for their support. Meanwhile, PDP had written to INEC to inform the commission of its change of leadership and its intention to pick a new chairman by Monday through a Special NEC meeting. Source: This day
Posted on: Sun, 19 Jan 2014 08:23:43 +0000
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