IN a move that should put paid to the crisis between both parties and pave way for a smooth congress, governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have agreed to support all candidates put forward by President Goodluck Jonathan in the forthcoming national convention of the party.

A source at the Presidency yesterday told The Guardian: “All principal officers of the new PDP exco will be nominees of the President.

“The governors have agreed to back the President’s candidates for the election this Saturday. This will promote unity and cohesion in the party.

“Chairman of the Governors’ Forum, Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, met with the President in Otuoke on Saturday. Sources at the meeting said the meeting was to re-affirm the agreement between the President and the Governors’ Forum to back all candidates for principal party offices that the President will present to them. Top among these candidates are Bamanga Tukur as the party’s Chairman and Olagunsoye Oyinlola as Secretary.

“The meeting between the President and the governor was very cordial and both of them came out smiling.”

Similarly, Senator Bukola Saraki said in Ilorin that Tukur’s candidacy was a sacrifice by him to help in the transformation of the party due to his wealth of experience as a successful politician and businessman.

Saraki, who described the PDP in Kwara State as “a family,” said the party needed a national chairman of Tukur’s caliber to transform the party for the challenges ahead.

In a related development, Tukur’s candidacy as the national chairman of the PDP received a boost in Ilorin, Kwara State yesterday when Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed and Saraki threw their weights behind the one-time governor of the defunct Gongola State.

Welcoming Tukur to Government House, Ilorin, Ahmed expressed the hope that the aspirant would bring his wealth of experience to bear on the fortunes of the PDP if he emerged as the national chairman of the party.

He assured Tukur of the Kwara people’s support towards his aspiration.

Meanwhile, ahead of the March 24 national convention of the PDP, the South-East caucus and leadership of the party met in Enugu yesterday and rectified nominees for positions allocated to the zone by the party.

Those who emerged from the consensus arraignment after the over two-hour meeting held at Government House, Enugu, were Olisa Metu from Anambra State as National Publicity Secretary; Mrs. Kema Chikwe from Imo State as Women Leader; and Col. Austeen Akobundu (rtd) from Abia State as Zonal Vice Chairman (South-East).

Others are Chief Solomon Onwe from Ebonyi State as Deputy National Secretary and Ali Odefa also from Ebonyi as Zonal Publicity secretary.

Tukur said the exalted office of the party’s chairman “at this auspicious moment is for the daddies and not for green horns”.

“The party,” according to Tukur, “needs someone who is not looking for a job, but a person with sufficient experience, matured, is honest, has integrity and intellectual balance to restore peace, unity, discipline and support the transformation agenda of the Federal Government.”

-Guardian

Posted by admin on Mar 19 2012. Filed under Governors, Party Politics, Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP). You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry