Former national publicity secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Kola Ologbondiyan, has said that the party leadership has settled that the North-Central will deliver a candidate to take over as the substantive national chairman of the party in November, supplanting Umar Damgunm who has been acting in that capacity since the removal 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 deferred the party’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting initially planned to hold on October 24 to November 28, 2024, that the North-Central will produce a replacement for Ayu who is likewise from the zone.
“The reason for the postponement is to enable the leadership of the party to lead the party to win election in Ondo State,” Ologbondiyan said on a televised show, 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.”
Examined further whether the leadership of the party which has been in conflict on the chairmanship position all agreed that the North-Central ought to deliver 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 deliver a replacement to Ambassador Iliyasu Damagum, I can say that anywhere.”
The rescheduling of the NEC meeting was declared in a report provided 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 took place on Tuesday at the Bauchi State Governors’ Lodge, Tatari Ali House, Asokoro.
He said the meeting postponement is to guarantee that the party goes into the forthcoming Ondo gubernatorial polls scheduled for November 16, 2024, with the unity and strength requested, to “unseat the floundering All Progressive Congress, APC government in the state”.
The meeting likewise looked to end the discord 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 directly following an internal crisis currently ravaging 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.
Accordingly, Ologunagba and Ajibade suspended Damagum and Anyanwu, leading to a stalemate, which was broken by the PDP Governors Forum.
