Saraki meets with PDP leaders in Ilorin

SENATE President, Dr Bukola Saraki hosted a delegation of political office holders in the country in Ilorin on Wednesday, in what political observers termed to be a step in the consolidation of a possible return to PDP.

The political bigwigs who visited include both serving APC and PDP governors and senators, including national chairman of the PDP and presidential aspirant, Alhaji Sule Lamido.

The dignitaries include Governors Nyesom Wike of Rivers state, Samuel Ortom of Benue state, Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto state and Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara state. Others include Senators Barnabas Gemade, Shabba Lafiagi and national publicity secretary of the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, National Assembly members from the state, among other PDP stalwarts.

It was gathered that some of the political leaders, who met with the Senate President at about 3:00 pm, had earlier attended fidau prayer for mother of the former national chairman of the new Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP), Hajiya Ayisat Baraje, in the morning, while Governor Tambuwal, Secondus and Lamido arrived later in the afternoon.

The purported meeting, which held in the residence of the Senate President located in the GRA, Ilorin lasted less than one hour without anyone ready to talk with journalists after the meeting.

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Also, media aides of the Senate President declined to comment on the matters discussed at the meeting, saying that the politicians of note had only come to the state capital for the fidau prayer.

Speaking with the national publicity secretary of the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, on phone after the purported meeting, he said that the gathering could not really be seen as a convened official meeting, describing it as a normal gathering of like minds.

The political leaders left the residence of the Senate President at about 4:00 pm in a white tinted bus with security operatives in a convoy to the airport back to Abuja.

However, it could not be ascertained whether the APC deputy national chairman (South), Niyi Adebayo and his North counterpart, Lawan Shuaib, attended the meeting with Saraki.

Earlier in the morning, after meeting with his Kwara state counterpart, Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State had told journalists that his meeting with the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Wednesday would determine his next political move.

Governor Ortom said that the Benue State APC had issued his red card and hoped that the national leadership of the party could reverse the decision.

According to him, the national leadership of the party is the larger body which could upturn the decision of the state chapter.

Governor Ortom, however, explained that the final decision lies with his people who are more important to him.