2019: Northern PDP Leaders Begin Search for Presidential Candidate...

BoT warns splinter group to shape up

Northern elders and stakeholders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have commenced profiling of presidential aspirants that can fly the flag of the party in the 2019 presidential election.

The Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT), Senator Walid Jibrin, who disclosed this yesterday when he received members of the PDP ward-to-ward team on courtesy visit, said the region has started “the process of identifying credible candidate from the northern region who will fly the party flag in the 2019 presidential election.”

The BoT chairman also weighed in on the recent outburst declaration by an aggrieved PDP group, warning them to desist from creating further crisis in the party.

He said the BoT would do all it can to ensure that those behind the rebellion did not succeed in throwing the party into crisis again.

Speaking on the plans for 2019, Jibrin said the aim of embarking on the search is to identify who is the best candidate to rule this country, the best person that will help PDP take away power from the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Some political gladiators from the North, including former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar; former Governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, and former Governor of Kano State, Ibrahim Shekarau, have already indicated their intention to run for the office.

However, Jibrin said the stakeholders of the party in the North would ensure that only the best candidate is presented for the presidential race.

“All of us as a party, have agreed that the president of Nigeria should come from the North. I enjoin you to support the North to bring and give you a very capable president, never-a-no-do-well president, a good quality president.

“We are all doing what we can in the North with all the leaders to identify who is the best candidate to rule this country, the best person that will take away power from the ruling party because 2019 is our own, 2019 is for PDP,” Jibrin stated.

On the return of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to the party, Jibrin described it as a good omen for the PDP, adding that the party was expecting more former PDP members who had left the party.

He used the occasion to urge the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and former Governor of Kano State, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, to make haste and return to PDP.

“We are also expecting a big return of some of our former governors, our National Assembly members and very renowned party followers. And when this is done, which will be done very quickly, then the party will now come to its stable stand.

“We should encourage anybody who has left us to come back and reunite with us. We will not hate anyone or deprive anybody. It is a good omen for this party that we should receive people.

“We are therefore calling on Saraki, Kwankwaso and all our former legislators who had left this party to come back quickly,” the BoT chairman stated.

Jibrin said the BoT has set up internal reconciliation committee headed by former Senate President, Senator David Mark, to reconcile members of the board who were at different camps during last year’s PDP national convention.

He commended the role PDP governors played in the emergence of Prince Uche Secondus as National Chairman, stating the if not for the governors, the party would not have had a successful convention.

“BoT, throughout the campaign, was neutral, but some people decided to pitch camp with some aspirants. Because of that, we have decided to set a committee,” he disclosed.

He warned members of the factional group, the fresh PDP, to desist from creating further crisis in the party.

“Our party has undergone many trials, trials of leaving the party by some former governors and some party leaders. Followed by the misfortune we suffered during Ali Modu Sheriff reign and now one group is coming up again, the so called Fresh PDP.

“I will pray that this PDP (group) will not see the light at all. We are doing all we can to ensure that they do not go anywhere. The suffering we suffered in the party will not be repeated,” he added.