PDP's southwest leaders reject chairmanship saying it will portray party as southern

PEOPLES Democratic Party (PDP) leaders in the southwest have rejected the offer of producing the next national chairman pointing out that doing so runs the risk of portraying the party as a southern organisation.

 

After 16 in office, the PDP lost the last general elections, losing the presidency and its dominance of the National Assembly. It also controls only 12 of Nigeria's 36 states but most of its support is in southern Nigeria and to get back into power the party needs to make significant gains in the north.

 

Earlier this year, former Borno State governor Alhaji Ali Modu Sheriff was selected by the PDP's national working committee (NWC) as national chairman and the decision needs to be ratified at the party's convention on May 21. Several party members opposed to Alhaji Sheriff's appointment have suggested that the chairmanship go to the southwest but party leaders in the geo-political zone have rejected the offer.

 

Yesterday, party leaders from the southwest paid a courtesy visit to Alhaji Sheriff in Abuja and declared their support for the north to retain the PDP’s national chairmanship position. They made their position known in a paper they presented to Alhaji Sheriff and other members of the party’s NWC.

 

Their situation report was signed by Senator Buruji Kashamu, Senator Teslim Folarin, the chairmen of the party in the six southwestern states and 30 others. Led by the southwest national vice chairman, Makanjuola Ogundipe, the group also endorsed Senator Kashamu as the leader of the party in the zone.

 

According to the party chiefs, the PDP would become a regional party if the south got the national chairmanship position. They added that in the interest of fairness and national unity, the chairman had to come from northern Nigeria.

 

“We say this because out of the five states in the southeast, the PDP has three governors and we have five governors out of the six states in the south-south. In the southwest, we have two governors.

 

“In the whole of the north, we have only two governors, so we need to strengthen the north because if not, the PDP will be branded as a regional party. We cannot go ahead and pick the national chairman from the south,” their paper stated.

 

Senator Ayo Adeosun, who spoke on behalf of delegates from Oyo State, admitted that there was a serious problem in the party in southwest. He added that the PDP would have won in Lagos State for instances were it not for an internal wrangling within the party.