PDP may concede BoT chair to South-East

 PDP Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur

There were indications on Wednesday that the Peoples Democratic Party would concede the chairmanship of its Board of Trustees to the South-East.

Investigations by our correspondents in Abuja showed that although the party’s National Working Committee had not met on the issue, many top members of the party were of the view that the South-East should produce the PDP BOT Chairman.

Members of the NWC contacted also confirmed the possibility of the zone producing the successor to former President Olusegun Obasanjo who suddenly resigned from the position on Tuesday.

Although Obasanjo’s resignation came on Tuesday, it was learnt that the decision on his resignation was taken before the March 24 national convention of the party.

The PDP’s NWC did not hold its weekly meeting on Tuesday, because many of its members were said to be on holiday.

But some members contacted told our correspondents that it was not likely that the South-West would retain the post.

One of them said, “The position will go to the South because the North has produced the chairman. In the South, many of us are considering South-East. The South-West having produced the national secretary may not get it.

“The South-South where the President comes from has also produced the deputy national chairman. We may zero in on the South-East.”

According to Section 12.76 (1) of the PDP constitution, membership of the BOT consists of all past and serving presidents and vice-presidents of the country, former and current national chairmen, deputy national chairmen and national secretaries of the party.

Other members include past and serving presidents of the Senate and speakers of the House of Representatives, who are still members of the party as well as “founding fathers and mothers.”

Section 12.77 of the party’s constitution states, “The Board of Trustees shall elect its chairman and a secretary from members of the board. The chairman and secretary shall also be members of the National Executive Council.”

In the 2007 amendments of the constitution, only former Presidents could become the BOT chairman.

Obasanjo became the BOT chairman by virtue of his position as the only former president elected on the PDP platform.

But in 2009, the constitution was again amended and the post became elective.

Meanwhile, more facts on Wednesday emerged on Obasanjo’s resignation.

A source, who spoke to one of our correspondents on the condition of anonymity, said that there was no disagreement between Obasanjo, Jonathan and other members of the party. It was stated that the decision to allow Obasanjo to step down as Chairman of the BOT was taken shortly before the party’s national convention, which produced a national working committee led by a former Governor of old Gongola State, Dr. Bamanga Tukur.

“The issue of Obasanjo’s resignation from his position as chairman of the BOT was taken even before the convention. If the man says he wants to go, let him go, hasn’t he tried? The man is an old man. The President, Obasanjo and other members of the party agreed just before the party’s convention in Abuja that he should go, not because of any disagreement or any diminishing influence as claimed,” the source said.

Meanwhile, mixed reactions on Wednesday greeted Obasanjo’s resignation. A member of the BOT, Alhaji Shuaib Oyedokun, said the resignation of Obasanjo had created a vacuum.

 In a telephone interview with our correspondent in Osogbo, Osun State,  Oyedokun described Obasanjo as a man of many parts, who had left an indelible mark on the PDP.

“This is a man that is formidable enough to effectively play the role of PDP BoT chairman because of his vast experience and versatility,” he said.

Oyedokun added that: “Obasanjo’s exit is honourable because it is voluntary. This will put him away from some local conflicts, which his role as BoT chairman would ordinarily drag him into.

Another member of the BoT, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, said he had no comment on the resignation of Obasanjo as chairman of the board.

“I have no comment,” Babatope told our correspondent in a telephone interview on Wednesday.

But the Action Congress of Nigeria described the resignation of former President Olusegun Obasanjo as Chairman, Board of Trustees, as “good riddance to (bad) rubbish.”

An email by the Osun State chapter of the party, in Osogbo, on Wednesday, said Obasanjo only served the interest of a few persons while in power.

The statement signed by the party’s Director of Information and Strategy, Mr. Kunle Oyatomi, said “Obasanjo’s resignation as chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees may be shocking to those who he served successfully. But to those who know better, Obasanjo’s exit is one dramatically cynic act in the theatre of the absurd.”