• Says Damagum’s replacement will come from N’Central
• Party postpones NEC meeting again
Former spokesperson of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Kola Ologbondiyan, yesterday, asked former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, to allow the party to breathe.
The PDP chief also said the North Central geopolitical zone would produce the next substantive national chair of the party. This was as the PDP postponed the meeting of its National Executive Committee (NEC) earlier scheduled for today till November 28, 2024.
Ologbondiyan made the plea in reaction to the rift between Atiku and Wike. Stressing that the “PDP is larger than Atiku and Wike,” the former national publicity secretary urged them to make peace in the party’s interest.
Featuring on Channels Television’s Morning Brief, the PDP chieftain said the party should not be brought down to the whims of Wike or Atiku’s faction.
PDP is experiencing a leadership crisis, which dates to the build-up to the 2023 presidential election. The rift led to Wike working against Atiku and PDP during the general election.
Wike had formed the G-5 Integrity group from PDP comprising four ex-governors and one serving governor, who worked for President Bola Tinubu and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP).
With no end in sight, Ologbondiyan said: “I look forward to the day PDP will be allowed to breathe without the issue of Atiku or Wike.” He also described the decision to shift as a “welcome development”.
Ologbondiyan said, “The reason for the postponement is to enable the leadership of the party to lead the party to win the governorship election in Ondo State.
“For that singular reason, members are calming down since it is certain now that after the victory in Ondo on November 28, we will have a NEC meeting where the North Central will have the opportunity to produce its replacement for Sen Iyorchia Ayu.” Noting that it was not part of the reconciliation meeting, Ologbondiyan said that the final decision would be made at the next NEC meeting.
“Part of the discussion and decision reached last night is that come November 28, the North Central will produce a replacement for Damagun. I can say that anywhere,” he added.
The NEC meeting was first moved from September to October 2024. The postponement, the party said, was to allow for wholesome preparation for the November 16 governorship election in Ondo.
A communiqué signed by the Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum (PDPGF), Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, noted that the decision was taken at a consultative meeting between the governors and key stakeholders in the party on Tuesday night.
It read: “Rising from the consultative meeting of its various organs, the PDP resolved that ‘the NEC meeting originally slated for October 24, 2024, be rescheduled for November 28, 2024.
“The postponement is to ensure that the party goes into the forthcoming Ondo gubernatorial elections of November 16, 2024, with the unity and strength demanded to unseat the floundering All Progressives Congress (APC) government in the state.”
The meeting called on all members to shun divisive utterances that could undermine ongoing efforts at strengthening the party to effectively play its role as the country’s main opposition, preparatory to taking over in 2027.
