PDP Considers Consensus Ahead Of Ibadan Convention

Stakeholders in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are considering adopting a consensus arrangement for electing officials at the party’s forthcoming national convention in Ibadan this November.

Party insiders who spoke with The Nation said the move is aimed at avoiding a repeat of the rancour that trailed the 2022 presidential primaries, which many blamed for the PDP’s poor outing in the 2023 general elections and the wave of defections that followed.

The 2022 primaries, which deep divisions marked, were said to have triggered disunity that ultimately cost the party the presidency and led to the defection of two sitting governors and several top members to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Other heavyweights, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and ex-Senate President David Mark, also left for the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

The party leadership is also seeking to bring the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, and his loyalists back fully into the fold following months of tension.

It was learnt that the PDP Governors’ Forum has reached out to Wike’s camp to address some of their demands, though it remains unclear how much the hierarchy is willing to concede.

Among Wike’s demands is the formal recognition of Chief Dan Orbih as the party’s South-South Zonal Chairman, and the derecognition of Chief Ali Odefa from the South-East as National Vice Chairman.

Speaking during a recent media chat, Wike warned that failure to address these issues could deepen the crisis.

He said, “If they want another round of crisis, so be it. The Congress moved that Chief Dan Orbih emerged as the National Vice Chairman, South-South of the party. The court allowed it for the Congress to hold, and the Congress was held. The so called acting National Chairman of the party went and wrote a letter to INEC.

“The congress was held on Saturday, the 15th, and he went and wrote a letter on the 8th, for example, that the Congress had been postponed. Chief Dan Orbih is the National Vice Chairman of PDP, South-South. If they don’t agree, that is another round of crisis.

“Two, the South-East Congress, which produced Chief Ali Odefa as the National Vice Chairman, cannot stand because the court had affirmed that Odefa is no longer a member of the party.

“That is what I told the people that I cannot allow impunity and will fight it until they correct it; there is time for them to resolve before we talk of convention, if it is not resolved, that is an invitation to crisis.”

It is understood that more consultations are being held on the various issues.

National Chairman of PDP Ambassador Umar Damagum, and the Chairman of PDP Governors’ Forum, Bala Mohammed, have confirmed that zoning the party’s presidential ticket to the south was part of the strategy to recalibrate PDP.

The position of national chairman was conceded to the north in the report of the Governor Douye Diri-led National Zoning Committee.

The next stage in the presidential ticket zoning arrangement is to micro-zone the position to one of the three geopolitical zones in the south: Southeast, Southsouth and Southwest.

The three zones are already consulting on how to go about it, according to sources.

No aspirant has publicly declared his interest yet, although some party bigwigs like Professor Jerry Gana and Governor Bala Mohammed have said former President Goodluck Jonathan and former Labour Party flagbearer in 2023, Peter Obi, are welcome to the race.

For the position of national chairman, stakeholders across the north and south are currently involved in working towards having one through national consensus.

Zonal Executive Committees in the six geo-political zones are said to have commenced negotiations on ‘micro-zoning’ positions to the various state chapters.

According to party sources, each state and zone has been instructed to achieve a high level of consensus during the November 15-16 national convention.

Sources indicate that the party may consider a relatively young person with drive and a commanding leadership presence.

While former Governor of Kaduna state, Ahmed Makarfi, who once acted as PDP national Chairman and former Minister of Information, Prof Jerry Gana, have been seriously considered, new developments indicate that there are now serious discussions about leaving Makarfi from Kaduna state in the North West to continue as Secretary of the Board of Trustees. In contrast, a younger party loyalist from the North Central is considered for the chairmanship candidate.

According to a member of the PDP NEC who spoke with The Nation in confidence, some stakeholders are considering Honourable Teejay Yusuf, a three-time member of the House of Representatives from Kogi State, as one of the likely candidates for the position of national chairman.

The source said, “What they are saying is that Teejay Yusuf who is under 60 can be a bridge between the north and south as he speaks Hausa and Yoruba fluently; they also say that he has staunchly remained in PDP since 1998 and withstood various storms, including being denied committee chairmanship in the House of Representatives for four years because he seriously toed party lines rather than support a close friend from another party who eventually became speaker of the House.”

When contacted on the telephone, Hon Teejay Yusuf told The Nation that because of a high regard for the superiority of party interests over individual aspirations, all stakeholders are still busy working on the collective objective of recalibrating PDP.

“Contrary to what many outsiders assume, all party stakeholders will collectively decide and form a consensus in deciding who occupies what position in November; it is not going to be determined by mere personal ambition because we all have a common resolve to rebuild the party and make concessions to one another where necessary,” he said.

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