Appointment: Politicians storm PDP secretariat, intensify lobby

THE national secretariat of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has become a Mecca of sort as politicians have continued to intensify lobby ahead of the composition of the leadership of the National Assembly and the Federal Executive Council, FEC.

The lobby came on the heels of the tentative zoning arrangement by the Peoples Democratic Party, where positions had been zoned.
In the present formula, the South South has the position of the President, North West, Vice President, Senate President, North Central, Deputy Senate President, South East; Speaker, South West, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, while the North East has the position of the National Chairman of the PDP.

It was gathered yesterday that with the position of the PDP national chairman going to North East, the former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, Dr. Aliyu Modibbo Umar, and former governor of Bauchi State, Adamu Muazu, are said to be frontline contenders.

The states for this zone are Taraba, Gombe, Bauchi, Adamawa, Yobe and Borno.

It would be recalled that the position of the national chairman, which was occupied by the South East in the present National Working Committee, NWC, that came on board in 2008, became vacant in January this year, following the forced resignation of Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo.

Deputy National Chairman, Dr. Bello Haliru Mohammed, from Kebbi State in North West geo-political zone, became the Acting National Chairman and saw the party through the period of the electioneering campaigns and elections proper, after the emergence of President Goodluck Jonathan as the presidential candidate of the party at the Presidential primaries.

It was also gathered that party chieftains and stakeholders from the zone are already meeting to brainstorm on likely successor of Nwodo and Modibbo, Mauzu and the National Vice Chairman, North East, Senator Paul Wampana, are said to be on top of the list.

It was gathered that Modibbo may be favoured, following the issue of generational change from the old brigade politicians and also for the fact that he had been a federal minister thrice and once Deputy Chief of Staff in the presidency.

that it would be dangerous for the people of the South East if they are left out in very top political offices at the National Assembly and the yet to be constituted Federal Executive Council, FEC.

Chukwumerije said the people of the region desired the position of Senate President or Speaker of the House of Representatives as compensation for the support Jonathan got during the April 16 Presidential poll.

Addressing leaders of the Abia North senatorial district who paid him a courtesy visit in his Abuja office yesterday, Senator Chukwumerije noted that it would be against natural justice the zone to be sidelined when plum offices were being shared as he noted that geopolitical zones that performed less for the PDP were getting better positions.

Meanwhile, the All Progressive Grant Alliance, APGA, has said that President Goodluck Jonathan would be betraying the support he got from the Southeast if he endorsed the proposed zoning formula of political offices that denies the Southeast the office of Speaker of the House of Representatives.

-Vanguardwp_posts