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A meeting of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to elect its Board of Trustees (BoT) chairman at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa could not yield any positive result yesterday.
The absence of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who is said to be fronting for his anointed candidate at the meeting, had sent early signals that it was heading for a deadlock the way it happened in December last year.
Until he resigned last year, Obasanjo was the BoT chairman.
Speaking to State House correspondents before the commencement of the meeting, Mrs Josephine Anenih; Katsina State Governor Ibrahim Shema, national secretary of the party Olagunsoye Oyinlola and Ambassador Hassan Adamu had expressed the hope that the party would have a BoT leadership that would give the party the required direction.
Countering rumours that the party had already decided on who would become its BoT chairman before the election proper, Oyinlola said it was the pastime of PDP detractors, adding that “they will always say that.”
For Shema, there was nothing wrong with that because it was normal for any party or institution to decide its leadership either by election, consensus or proclamation.
“Even in the National Assembly, decisions are taken on the basis of verbal proclamation. The ayes always come up against the nays. The party is at liberty to choose the best way for it to choose its leaders.
“We remain the best, largest and most democratic party in the country. There is no tribe, religion, local government area or ward in the country where the PDP is not represented. The board is supposed to be very objective and above the issue of ‘push me I push you’ politics. The board knows that its role is advisory”, Shema stated.
Present at the meeting were President Goodluck Jonathan, Vice President Namadi Sambo, Senate President David Mark and Speaker of the House of Representatives Aminu Waziri Tambuwal.
Others present were Jim Nwobodo, Obong Victor Attah, Richard Akinjide, Olabode George, Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, Ibrahim Mantu, Tony Anenih, Bamanga Tukur, Ken Nnamani, Sen Walid Jibrin, Musa Babayo, Haliru Bello Mohammed, Dalhatu Tafida, Kema Chikwe, Bode Olajumoke, David Jemibewon, Don Etiebet, Ebenezer Babatope, Vincent Ogbulafor, Wakili Adamawa (Amb Hassan Adamu), Patricia Etteh, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, Gen Muhammadu Magoro, Alex Ekwueme, Ahmadu Ali and wife, Maryam, Jerry Gana, Ghali Umar Na’abba, Francis Arthur Nzeribe, Inna Ciroma and Adolphus Wabara, among others.
Governors Ibrahim Shema and Sule Lamido of Katsina and Jigawa states were also present while former governors Abdulkadir Kure, Danjuma Goje and Amen Makarfi also attended the meeting.
