October 24, (THEWILL) – The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is set to hold its National Convention, which is scheduled for October 30 and 31, 2021 in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.
Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri of Adamawa State is the Chairman of the Convention Committee.
Speaking late last week, Fintiri stressed the importance of holding the convention, particularly at this period in Nigeria’s history. He said, “As a nation, we are at a crossroads. We have to do the needful, beginning from this convention, to ensure that we get our best hands to steer us with their skills, their experiences and their integrity, so that Nigerians can move forward.
“We need to revamp, re-engineer and position this party into a winning spirit. This, I believe we will achieve.”
The governor disclosed that the screening committee had completed and submitted its report, adding, “About 31 candidates have indicated interest to contest for all the elective positions from the National Chairman to the least. 27 of them have been cleared, one has withdrawn and three have been disqualified.
“If they have any reason not to agree with why they were disqualified, this party is very democratic and they have the opportunity tomorrow to appear before the Appeal Committee. They may be considered or not, depending on the reason they bring forth. But I’m satisfied with the job done by the Screening Committee. It has paved the way for us to move forward. I assure you, we will have one of the best, open, transparent and democratic conventions in the history of this country.
“We’re still working on the list of delegates. There are some litigations coming along with this. So we have to be sure that we have a clean list of delegates. It will be very difficult at the moment to talk about the actual number of delegates that will be attending this convention, but the basic information I can give you at the moment is that not less than 4,000 delegates will be in attendance.”
To ensure a hitch-free convention, it was gathered, PDP governors are constantly meeting and monitoring the activities of various committees set up to make sure everything is going smoothly.
At the end of one of such meetings last Wednesday in Abuja, the Chairman of the PDP-Governors Forum, Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State, confirmed that preparations towards a successful conduct of the convention had reached an advanced stage.
He said, “We have just finished our meeting where we received briefing from the Chairman of the Convention Planning/Organising Committee, Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State, that we are on course and by the grace of God, they have almost concluded every arrangement and plan for a very successful, free and fair convention for the PDP coming up on the 30th and 31st of this month.”
Tambuwal expressed confidence that the party would come out of the event stronger and united.
Those at the meeting include Governors Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto), Godwin Obaseki (Edo), Duoye Diri (Bayelsa), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu), Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Ahmed Fintiri (Adamawa) Seyi Makinde (Oyo) and Bala Mohammed (Bauchi).
Governors Darius Ishaku and Samuel Ortom of Taraba and Benue States, respectively, sent representatives.
It would be recalled that as a way of holding a successful convention where a new executive of the party will emerge, the party appointed about 15 sub – committees.
Most of the committees are headed by the state governors. Governors Nyesom Wike, Emmanuel Udom and Ishaku Darius of Rivers, Cross River and Taraba States are chairmen of Special Duties, Constitutional Amendment and Contact and Mobilisation sub-committees, respectively.
Other appointments as announced by Senator Duoye Diri include Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), Ifeanyi Okowa and Solomon Arase as chairmen of zoning, screening, screening appeal, accreditation and security committees.
Others are Ahmadu Fintiri (electoral), Godwin Obaseki (publicity), Bala Mohammed (venue), Mariya Waziri (welfare and entertainment), Ibrahim Dankwambo (transportation), Biodun Olujimi (protocol), Nuhu (medical) and Ibrahim Tsauri (secretariat).
Political analysts believe the PDP Convention will be rancour- free because of the successful agreement on consensus candidates, especially that of the national chairmanship position, which is the flagship of the party’s executive.
It would be recalled that in 2017 the national chairmanship of the party was fiercely contested. The emergence of Prince Uche Secondus then led to the defection of prominent foundation members of the party, such as former Governor of Rivers State, Donald Duke; Prof Jerry Gana and former Minister of Education, Prof Tunde Adeniran, among others.
Speaking further on the convention, Fintiri said the leadership tussle in the party had largely been addressed, even as he came short of saying the PDP had moved on from the crisis.
The convention is an election one where delegates have to vote for a new set of the party’s executive, but its leaders are said to be working hard to ensure that consensus is achieved before the date of the convention.
The submission of nomination forms for aspirants contesting for party offices was closed on Tuesday, October 19, 2021. The screening of aspirants by the Mohammed Adoke-led Screening Committee followed at the PDP National Secretariat in Abuja.
It would be recalled that the position of national chairman was zoned to the North. The three geo-political zones in the North – the North-West, North-East and North-Central – had agreed on the choice of former Senate President, Dr Iyorchia Ayu, as the National Chairman of the party. So what will need to be done at the convention may just be an affirmation.
For other positions, the party had done zoning, while the regions had further done micro-zoning of the positions.
It was gathered that the position of National Secretary has been zoned to the South-East, while Deputy National Chairman (South)has been micro-zoned to the South-West with former Governor of Osun State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, as a leading contender.
THEWILL gathered that efforts are being made by leaders from each geo-political zone to ensure that the convention is free of rancour.
Also state governors elected on the platform of the party may have endorsed the northern consensus candidate for the position of National Chairman, Senator Iyiorchia Ayu and the consensus candidate of the South-East for the position of National Secretary, Senator Sam Anyanwu. The duo were seen in a meeting with the PDP Governors in Abuja last week.
About the Author
AYO ESAN, has been actively reporting and analyzing political events for different newspapers for over 18 years. He has also successfully covered national and state elections in Nigeria since the inception of this democracy in 1999.
