Wakil, Fari, Mohammed, Gulak Top Contenders for PDP Chairmanship

in Abuja Last week’s resignation of Adamu Mu’azu as the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has thrown open the contest for the party’s topmost position.

Stakeholders are considering the outgoing Minister of State for Power, Mohammed Wakil; outgoing Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Senator Bala Mohammed; former Special Adviser on Politics to the President, Ahmed Gulak; and former National Administrative Secretary of PDP, Habu Fari, as top contenders fortheplum PDPjob.

The new national chairman is expected to come from the Northeast as the office is zoned to the geo-politicalarea.

This came to light as fresh facts emerged on how President Goodluck Jonathan got the Chairman, BoardofTrusteesofPDP,ChiefTony Anenih, to step down from the office, in spite of the willingness he had earliershowntodo so.

THISDAY learnt that Wakil, whois fromBornoStateis toponthe list of the possible replacement for Mu’azu. His consideration for the officeofthePDPchairmanisduetohis experience on party administration.

Wakil was the leader of the House of Representatives from 1999 to 2003 and later vice national chairman of PDP in the North-east zone. Before the choice of Mu’azu as national chairman in 2014, he lost out in what could be considered as ‘injury time.’

He also served variously as committee chairman and secretary in most of the committees set up for one reason or the other for party’s sundry issues. Members of the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) are said to be favourably disposed to have him as the national chairmanofPDPtillthenextnational convention of the party in March 2016. He stands close to pick the ticket because the Yobe / Borno axis is yet to assume national importance in holdingof theNWCoffices.

Next in the line , THISDAY also gathered, is Mohammed, the outgoing Minister of FCT, because he is from Bauchi, the same state with Mu’azu. Fari, the former National Administrative Secretary of PDP, who is from Taraba State, is also under consideration. A former minister of state for Transport in the Second Republic, he is seen as the father of PDP in Taraba. He served briefly as Chief of Staff to the former national chairman of PDP, Alhaji BamangaTukur.

THISDAY sources said Gulak, the former political adviser to Presi- dent Jonathan, is among those being mentioned as possible replacement for Mu’azu, if Adamawa state is to be given consideration. This is because Tukur, who had occupied the office from 2012 to early 2014, hails from Adamawa State.

However, following the defeat of President Jonathan in the March 28 presidential election, Anenih was said to have voluntarily proposed to Jonathan that he would step down for him (Jonathan) to assume the position in order for him to have a platform on which he would be relevant within the party after leaving office on May 29.

A few party leaders were said to be privy to the proposal, which Anenih has already confirmed in his May 20, 2015 letter to Jonathan in which he formalised his decision to step down. The letter and its content arealreadyin thepublic domain.