Saraki Not Interested In PDP National Chairmanship — Aide

The President of the 8th Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, is not interested in becoming the National Chairman of People Democratic Party (PDP), a top aide of the former Kwara State governor, Akintoba Fatigun, has revealed.

Saraki is one of the leading candidates being touted from the North-Central zone of the country as the likely next PDP national chairman to replace Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, who was forced out of office by a court order in 2023. Ayu hails from Benue State, same North-Central as Saraki.

But, Fatigun, a political adviser to Saraki, in a chat with LEADERSHIP on Friday said his principal wasn’t contemplating occupying the PDP national chairman position, describing Saraki’s decision on the matter as a “cast in rock”.

He added that the former Senate President has since communicated his ‘no show’ decision to the North-Central leadership of the biggest opposition party.

LEADERSHIP reports that the North-Central zone has called on Amb. Iliya Damagum to relinquish the acting national chairmanship seat and allow the emergence of a substantive national chairman from the region where the party originally zoned the position to in 2021.

The PDP had fixed April 18, 2024, for its crucial National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting where the modalities for choosing the next national chairman of the party would be discussed and adopted.