Bode George Battles Agbaje For PDP Chairmanship, governors divided

– Governors, Stakeholders Back Ex-Guber Candidate

– South-West To Endorse Former Deputy National Chair

– How Ekweremadu, Wike Influenced Zoning

The battle for the national chairmanship of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been narrowed down to a former Deputy National Chairman of the party, Chief Olabode George, and the Lagos State governorship candidate of the party in 2015 election, Mr. Jimi Agbaje. A member of the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT) described the race as “battle of godfather and godson.”

Agbaje rode on the back of George to become the party’s governorship candidate. New Telegraph gathered at the weekend that while the South-West chapter of the party may endorse George as its candidate for the position today, governors of the party and other stakeholders outside the zone have picked Agbaje as the incoming national chairman of the party.

If the court does not stop the convention scheduled for August 17 in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, Agbaje is set to emerge as the PDP national chairman. An Abuja court will rule on August 15 in an application brought by the factional national chairman of the party, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, asking the court to stop the convention.

The party in the South had, last week in Port Harcourt, zoned the slot to the South-West, which since 1999 has not enjoyed the slot. The meeting concluded that the zone should produce the chairman, thereby knocking off another major contender, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, from the South-South.

With that move, the coast became clear for George, Agbaje and a former Minister of Education, Professor Tunde Adeniran, as the three candidates jostling for the position.

The fourth candidate, a former Governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, pulled out of the race in support of Dokpesi. Adeniran’s candidature is not enjoying the backing of his governor, Ayo Fayose.

In fact, New Telegraph learnt that Adeniran merely informed Fayose via a text message of his intention to run for the PDP national chairmanship. New Telegraph gathered at the weekend that while the South-West has concluded plans to endorse George today in Akure, other zones are at variance with the choice, with the governors rooting for Agbaje.

It was gathered that though Agbaje has not picked the form for the chairmanship, he might likely pick the form today or within the week in Abuja. Agbaje was conspicuously absent when George declared his intention to run for the seat in Lagos two weeks ago. Multiple sources told this newspaper yesterday that Agbaje is George’s major obstacle and, in fact, the man to defeat him at the convention.

It was learnt that Agbaje was with the PDP governors in Port Harcourt throughout last week where the details of the coup against George was tidied. He was said to have been given an assurance of the backing of delegate from the PDP-controlled states by the governors. “Agbaje is the choice of major stakeholders.

We, I mean the governors, have agreed on him and we will ensure he wins the chairmanship seat,” a governor told New Telegraph last night. New Telegraph learnt that Prince Uche Secondus has been anointed to return as deputy national chairman.

Also, Col. Austin Akobundu (rtd), a former National Vice Chairman (South-East) might emerge as the National Organising Secretary of the party. The post was zoned to the South-East and party leaders from the five states in the zone have agreed on the former Minister of State for Defence. Abubakar Mustapha, the former national organising secretary, from Kaduna might emerge as national secretary.

George’s opponents, which are made up of the governors, led by Rivers State helmsman, Nyesom Wike and Fayose are aiming to have a “fresh face as the new face of the party.” “They believe that the party needs a new face in order to rebrand it preparatory to 2019.

They believe also that the use of George or any key player in the party in the past 16 years would be counterproductive in reselling the party to Nigerians. As you are aware, the massive probe by the present All Progressives Congress (APC) administration,led by President Muhammadu Buhari has done little in lifting the PDP image. Remember that even though George was cleared by the Supreme Court over allegations for which he was jailed, there is also the moral issue in it.

That was also our fear when Dokpesi was running. He has a case with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which he has not cleared. So, presenting any of such people would not be in the interest of the PDP going forward,” said a source privy to the ongoing discussions.

He added: “Although Agbaje is relatively new in the party, he is untainted and is somebody considered credible enough. Again, you must also understand that the governors are pushing for their own man. They want somebody who can listen to them. George is well experienced in the party. He has connection all over the country.

But you and I also know that he might be a tough guy to deal with. The governors are not ready for another Bamanga Tukur now. They need somebody who can listen to them.” New Telegraph was informed that the decision to adopt George by South- West leaders was predicated on his experience and wide reach within the party.

Proponents of the George candidacy believe that the PDP needs a strong chairman “who can pick up his phone and marshal orders and direct affairs with clarity. We don’t need a houseboy as the chairman.”

“We are going to endorse Bode George tomorrow (Monday) and face the convention in Port Harcourt. There is still time between now and the convention date to iron things out properly. So, we are not worried about any other person for now.

Let them come. We are willing to do battle,” said a leader of the party in the zone, who is going to be at the endorsement meeting today. As New Telegraph gathered, while George, Agbaje and others are battling it out for the national chairmanship, some of the governors are already looking beyond the convention,towards 2019, with many of them angling for the vice presidential ticket with anybody that might emerge from the North.

Wike is said to be interested in the VP slot. The Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, is also said to be interested in the slot. Both are among those currently backing Agbaje.

The choice of who becomes the vice presidential candidate informed the PDP leaders in the South to zone the chairmanship to the South- West. The party has zoned the presidency to the North while either of the South- East or South-South will produce the presidential running mate in 2019.

The choice is between Ekweremadu and Wike. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a party chieftain in the South-West stated that “a governor of our party in the South-West is the one orchestrating the Agbaje aspiration and he has already sold the dummy to the South-South governors who have bought into the project.”

“In fairness, he (Agbaje) hasn’t come out publicly to declare his intentions, but his silence and absence from Bode George’s declaration in Lagos speaks volume about whether he is harbouring the aspiration to contest against the leader.

“I heard that he is going to purchase his nomination form by proxy this week. We will only wait to see what he is going to do in the coming days. But it’s clear that the battle for the chairmanship is within the Lagos camp,” he said.

But a group within the party, South-West PDP Consultative Forum, has urged Agbaje not to contest the party’s chairmanship seat. “We are worried as concerned stakeholders in our dear party over the unconfirmed insinuation that Mr. Jimi Agbaje, a protégée and political godson of Chief Olabode George, the leading aspirant of our party’s plum job, wants or is being pressurised to throw his hat into the ring of the contest.

“However, if it is true that such is in the pipeline or is being considered, we want to state unequivocally that the aspiration defies all sense of credibility, be it morally, politically, culturally and even spiritually.

If anything, Agbaje should be the first to queue behind the aspiration of Chief Bode George to bring our party out of the doldrums,” the group’s coordinator, Mr. Abolore Olusi, said in a statement.

– New Telegraph

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