Stakeholders have commenced plans to install former Senate President and Kwara Governor, Bukola Abubakar Saraki, as the next National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
OsunDailyNG reports that ahead of the 2023 general elections the opposition party was plunged into crisis which ultimately led to the formation of the G-5 group – Nyesom Wike, Seyi Makinde, Samuel Ortom, Okezie Ikpeazu, and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi – who worked against the interest of the party at the Presidential election.
The crisis also led to the removal of the party’s former National Chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu.
Ayu was replaced by the deputy national chairman, (North), Umar Damagum in an acting capacity after it lost the presidential election to the incumbent, President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
According to Saturday Sun, some of the critical stakeholders in the party gathered last week in Abuja to deliberate on how to bring the party back to relevance.
According to a reliable source, the stakeholders planned to bring Saraki as the chairman of the party, considering his clout, influence and reach in and outside the country.
The source said: “Though the critical stakeholders have not informed Bukola Saraki or the party of their intentions, some associates of the former Kwara State governor, who were privy to the plan, met on Tuesday in Abuja and moved against the plan.
“They contended that Saraki had brought the party back to life after persuading many former members who had defected to the APC to return to the opposition party. But they regretted that the immediate past leadership of the party had, because of their personal wars and vested interests, destroyed the party completely. They said Saraki should not be brought in to start laboring all over again.”
On his part, the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Debo Ologunagba, said the issue of bringing Saraki or not was in the realm of speculations.
He noted that the party could not make any comments on that, adding that the party as an organization was not aware of any such plan.
Meanwhile, Saturday Sun gathered that the party had not decided on what to do with the G-5 governors that contributed to the party’s failure in the presidential election.
A source said: “The party is meeting; the National Working Committee (NWC) has met, the Board of Trustees (BoT) has met. A special committee called the Select Committee met penultimate week.
“It is expected that as these segmented organs have met, the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting would be called where a decision on the G-5 governors and other problems bedevilling the party will be taken. But I don’t know when.”
