PDP leaders bickers over venue of convention

Choice of venue for the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) national convention scheduled for October where the party will have its presidential primaries has thrown leaders of the party into different camp

The disagreement manifested at the inauguration of the party’s National Convention Planning Committee on Monday, September 24, in Abuja. This followed a sharp disagreement between the chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT), Walid Jibrin, and the National Working Committee (NWC) over the choice of venue.

While inaugurating the committee, PDP deputy national chairman (South), Yemi Akinwonmi, said the party leaders had consulted widely on the venue and agreed for Port Harcourt, River state.

He said the party set up a committee headed by Ambassador Ibrahim Kazaure and they went round the South-South Zone and South-East Zone before coming out with the choice of Port Harcourt.

“As in acceptance, the National Working Committee (NWC) has consulted widely with the PDP Governors forum, we have consulted widely with the BOT, caucus of the party and today it has been jointly accepted that we will converge on Port Harcourt, in no distance time for the National Convention.

Meanwhile, Jibrin, in his remarks said the party had yet to make final decision on the choice of venue for the convention.

“Even though the deputy chairman said the issue of venue had been concluded, I want to say that the issue of venue is still on and is not concluded. Because there are many suggestions on the issue of venue. We look at all suggestions and I assure you that the issue of venue will be resolved.

“But for now we are working around the clock to ensure that we have a very suitable venue accepted by everybody. I want to say that every one of us should come together and ensure that we have a venue suitable to all of us.”

Intervening on the matter, the secretary of the convention committee and Ebonyi state governor, Dave Umahi, said: “I think the working committee and the BOT need to settle this.”

Chairman of the convention committee, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta state, also speaking on the matter said PDP was ready to host the convention in any state eventually agreed on.

Okowa said no matter where the convention was settled for, PDP would do what was right. “I believe that at the end of the day, nobody will have any cause to complain,” he said.

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Recall that some presidential aspirants on the platform of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) faulted the party’s decision to move the presidential convention slated for October 6 to Port Harcourt, Rivers state.

Aspirants are questioning the rationale behind moving the convention to Rivers state and some are demanding an alternative venue.