Group canvasses for credible S/West candidate as next PDP chairman

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7 years ago

AHEAD of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), National Convention holding on Saturday in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), a group, Southern Solidarity Youth Movement (SSYM), has urged PDP leaders and delegates to vote for credible aspirant from among those jostling for chairmanship post from South West zone of the country.

Aspirants jostling for the position from the South West include Chief Olabode George, Prof Tunde Adeniran, Senator Rasidi Adewolu Ladoja, Prof Taoreed Adedoja and Mr Jimi Agbaje.

The group made the call on Wednesday in Lagos at a press conference addressed by its co-chairmen, including Mr Lekan Kabir Oniwa, Hon Kalu Dominic Uguru and Mr Jide Martins, saying the candidate to be voted into the exalted office must be a mechanic/driver as PDP needed to be fixed in order for Nigeria to be rescued come 2019.

This was just as the group, comprising members and leaders of the PDP, commended the Northern elders within the fold for supporting the aspiration of South West to produce the next chairman for the party at its coming Abuja convention.

“We, the members and officers of the Southern Solidarity Youth Movement (SSYM) salute the Peoples Democratic Party’s Northern Elders for supporting the micro-zoning of the position of National Chairman of our great party (PDP) to the South West geo-political zone,

“By supporting the South West to produce the next National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, from election due to take place at the party’s national convention slated for Saturday 9th December, 2017, you are reaffirming the decision taken by stakeholders at the party’s convention in Port Harcourt in August of 2016 and ratified at the party’s non-Elective convention of 12th August, 2017 in Abuja,” the group said.

Speaking on the appropriate person for the office, Oniwa said the group had no particular candidate in mind, but expressed the belief that a person who could be seen in a position of mechanic/driver would be one that could rescue the situation not only for PDP but also the country.

Oniwa, who noted that leaders and party delegates were abreast of the antecedents of each of the chairmanship aspirants, also urged that the best person to be voted should be who had nothing to answer.

“We don’t have anybody in mind, we all know them, we know their political backgrounds, we know what they have done in the past. But what I can urge all our leaders and the delegates at the convention to do is that they should think and look for mechanic/driver.”

“Why I say a mechanic/driver is that if you have in your mind that he is mechanic/driver and you want to travel anywhere, you would feel okay, you would be rest assured that if the vehicle is in trouble, if would be able to rescue you on the journey and get you to wherever you are going.

“So we don’t have anybody in mind, we know them, we know their past, we know what they have done in the past. We urge our leaders and delegates to try and pick someone who has nothing to answer,” he said.

Uguru, also in his remark, reiterated the need for PDP leaders and delegates from the South West to throw their weight behind candidate with track record in the chairmanship race from the zone.

He said this needed to be done to enable the PDP to be fixed and which in turn will rescue the country as, according to him, leadership of PDP would determine what happened in Nigeria in 2019.

“We are talking of track record. We want PDP to be fixed for Nigeria to be rescued because the leadership of the party determines what happens in 2019.”

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“What we are saying is that the South Westerners should look for credible candidate to sail the party to victory come 2019,” Uguru said.

Speaking further, the group reiterated its commitment to the PDP zonining formula and urged all other stakeholders in the party to do the same.

“It is by adopting this inclusive approach to national politics that our great party, the PDP can save Nigeria from the hypocrisy and narrow mindedness of the current APC administration come 2019,” SSYM said.