..As Governor Bala, Other Chieftains Back Consensus Candidate
Latest development in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) suggests a former Senate President, David Mark is in pole position to emerge as the National Chairman of the PDP as the party is said to be considering a consensus chairmanship candidate ahead of of its upcoming PDP national convention.
The former Senate President is said to be enjoying the support of top chieftains of the main opposition party.
Recall the zoning committee headed by the Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi had earlier resolved to zone its national chairmanship position to the northern part of the country.
Mark who hails for Benue State in North Central region is eligible to contest for the chairmanship post.
According to reports, some members of the PDP’s National Executive Committee (NEC) during a meeting had agreed to throw their weight behind Mark. It was gathered that the members see Mark as the best candidate to lead the party out of the woods and deliver success in the coming elections.
Also, PDP governors, under the leadership of the Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, are said to have shown considerable interest in ensuring that Mark gets the job.
However, the former President hasn’t officially announced interest in running for the chairmanship post. Should Mark decide to contest, he will battle with Senator Ahmed Makarfi, Shehu Shema, Ibrahim Dankwambo, Suleiman Nazif, Ibrahim Idris (Ibro), who have all reportedly shown interest in the chairmanship position.
In related development, Governor Umaru Fintiri of Adamawa State is set to head a 20-Member Committee assigned with the responsibility to screen aspirants from the Northern region interested in the position of National Chairman of the party.
According to reports, the Northern Caucus of the party decided to allow all 19 states in the northern region to nominate one candidate for the chairmanship post.
All the 19 candidates would then be screened by the Fintiri-led committee after which three aspirants will be recommended to the NEC before the National Convention scheduled to hold in October.
Meanwhile, Governor Bala Mohammed, a member of the PDP convention planning committee, has explained why consensus candidate would be preferred.
He said: “Consensus is normally a process of democratic consultation, as democracy is about consensus. Certainly, the electoral process can be reduced by having a converging point on an individual and that would have reduced the disparaging issues within the party.”
He, however, said if consensus was not eventually agreed upon, PDP would certainly not subscribe to imposition.
On zoning, the Bauchi governor said: “We have resolved the issue of zoning. The PDP is a mature party. We have learnt from our mistakes, we will not play to the gallery the way our detractors or competitors want us to.
“We will always resolve our issues, so zoning is over… What we are looking forward to is the emergence of a chairman from the North, who will give us the leadership that we require to form quality government in 2023,” he said.
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