PDP governors, candidates strategise ahead April 11

overnors, states chairmen and governorship candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are now having sleepless nights, strategising how to win the governorship election slated for April 11, it was learnt yesterday.

The move followed the defeat of the party’s presidential candidate, Goodluck Jonathan, in last Saturday’s polls by Muhammadu Buhari of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC).

At a closed-door meeting of PDP governors, state party chairmen and governorship candidates held at the PDP national secretariat, yesterday, in Abuja, how the party could enhance its chances at the governorship polls, which many believed would be tough, was discussed.

Although journalists were not officially briefed after the meeting, which ended at about 2: 18pm, our correspondent gathered that national leadership of the party, led by the national chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, urged governors to deliver their states to PDP, while the governorship candidates of states were advised to campaign vigorously to enhance their chances at the poll.

It was gathered that the meeting told the chairmen to explore all the democratic means to ensure that PDP defeats the opposition parties, noting that if the party failed to win the majority of the states, it would be difficult to recover the presidential seat in the future.

A party source told Daily Trust that “Our fear is that if we sit down without any effort, the opposition may take over some of our states. Mind you, we have already lost the presidential election to the opposition, so it is strictly business. That is why the meeting is very crucial.”