Adeniran Launches Bid for PDP Chairmanship

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

Former Minister of Education, Prof. Tunde Adeniran, formally unveiled his plans to contest for the position of the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The event which was held at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja, attracted many PDP bigwigs who came to show their support and solidarity for Adeniran’s aspiration.

According to the party’s current zoning arrangement, the position of the national chairman is zoned to the South, although there have been claims and counter claims as to whether the plumb position will be further zoned to any of the three geopolitical zones in the south-South-west, South-south and Southeast.

Similarly, the Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, is set to launch a bid for the presidential ticket of the PDP at an event to be held in Abuja thursday.

For Adeniran, the December 9 convention is an opportunity for the PDP to bounce back to power if the party is able to get its acts right.

He said doing so requires reconciliation, unity and a rebuilding process.
While soliciting for massive support across the six-geo-political zones, Adeniran, a former Ambassador to Germany, pledged to work tirelessly to “reaffirm and entrench the founding principles of our great party; restore the sanctity of internal democracy and rule of law and return the party to the people in tandem with the spirit and intent of its slogan-Power to the people.”

Also speaking at the event was a former Minister of Police Affairs, Adamu Maina Waziri, who lauded the leadership qualities of Adeniran, and tasked the party to stand by him.

He said in good and bad times, the chairmanship aspirant has proven to be a loyal party man since the formation of the PDP in 1998.

“Since we were given flags to establish the party in our various states in 1998, Adeniran has not wavered. We want to open a new chapter, where democracy will flourish, where the choice of the people will determine who leads them,” Waziri stated, urging the party faithful not to forget that the road to the presidential villa is not an easy one.
“Don’t be deceived. It is not easy to reclaim Aso Villa in 2019,” he warned, charging party supporters to work assiduously for the task ahead.

In his goodwill message at the unveiling of Adeniran’s chairmanship bid, the former Deputy Senate President, Ibrahim Mantu, described the former minister as a man of impeccable character.
Mantu who addressed Adeniran as the “incoming national chairman,” said he decided to settle for him as the best choice after fasting for 30 days.

He said for someone to be considered for the next national chairman of the PDP, he or she must be a person whose character and antecedent can be verified.

A remorseful Mantu regretted that PDP was offered the opportunity to rebuild the country in 1999 after the damage caused by the military juntas but that the party derailed midway and had to be kicked out in most dramatic manner ever witnessed in Nigerian politics.

“Since 2003, we have not conducted a free and fair election to elect our candidates for election and for this reason, in 2015, Nigerians decided to kick us out of power. It was impunity and imposition all the way. One would have expected by now that the party would have learnt its lessons but the signs are not encouraging,” he said.

The former deputy senate president said going forward, the party must ensure that whoever is its chairman must be someone with impeccable character.

According to Mantu, “I have known Adeniran for the past 25 years, and I have never seen anything questionable in his conduct. For me, I have become a born again and anything I say now is the truth and nothing but the truth.
“What happened in Anambra State is bad news and we should not be seen doing that anymore.

“I was telling my wife yesterday that if we don’t get it right in the next convention, I wonder what I will be telling the founding fathers of the party like Solomon Lar when I die
“We must take the power from those people who think that they have become more powerful than the people. I fasted for 30 days and asked God to show me among all these who are jostling for the national chairman of the PDP and the lot fell on Adeniran.”

He asked party members to be vigilant and ensure that whoever that would emerge as the chairman of PDP is a credible person.