A former national publicity secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Kola Ologbondiyan, has said that the party leadership has resolved that the North-Central will produce a candidate to take over as the substantive national chairman of the party in November, replacing Umar Damgunm who has been acting in that capacity since the ouster of Iyorchia Ayu by a court judgement in 2023.
Ologbondiyan said it is a consensus conclusion of the PDP leaders who met in Abuja on Tuesday and postponed the party’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting originally scheduled to hold on October 24 to November 28, 2024, that the North-Central will produce a replacement for Ayu who is also from the zone.
“The reason for the postponement is to enable the leadership of the party lead the party to win election in Ondo State,” Ologbondiyan said on Channels Television’s breakfast programme, The Morning Brief, on Wednesday.
“And for that singular reason, members are calming down since it is certain now that after the victory in Ondo that on November 28, we will have a NEC meeting where the North-Central will have the opportunity to produce its replacement for Senator Iyorchia Ayu.”
Probed further whether the leadership of the party which has been in disagreement on the chairmanship position all agreed that the North-Central should produce a candidate for that position in November, Ologbodiyan said, “part of the discussion and decision reached last night is that come November 28 the North-Central will produce a replacement to Ambassador Iliyasu Damagum, I can say that anywhere.”
The rescheduling of the NEC meeting was announced in a communique issued by the Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum, Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State following the consultative meeting of various organs of the party, which was held on Tuesday at the Bauchi State Governors’ Lodge, Tatari Ali House, Asokoro.
He said the meeting postponement is to ensure that the party goes into the forthcoming Ondo gubernatorial elections scheduled for November 16, 2024, with the unity and strength demanded, to “unseat the floundering All Progressive Congress, APC government in the state”.
The meeting also sought an end to disunity among members.
The meeting was attended by the PDP Governors Forum, its Board of Trustees, National Working Committee (NWC), National Assembly Leadership of the PDP Caucus and Forum of Former Governors of the party
It comes in the wake of an internal crisis currently rocking the party.
The PDP Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, and National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, had suspended the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba and National Legal Adviser, Ajibade.
In response, Ologunagba and Ajibade suspended Damagum and Anyanwu, leading to a stalemate, which was broken by the PDP Governors Forum.
