Says contest a sham; accuses Wike, Fayose of manipulation
Dokpesi, Ex-Minister also kick as ‘Unity List’ sparks protests
How PDP can regain power, by Jonathan, Atiku, Makarfi
PDP 2017 Convention Unity List
S/N
POSITION
NAME
STATE
ZONE
1
NATIONAL CHAIRMAN
PRINCE UCHE SECONDUS
RIVERS SOUTH-SOUTH
2
DEPUTY NAT. CHAIR. SOUTH
ELDER YEMI
AKINWONMI
OGUN
SOUTH-WEST
3
DEP. NAT. CHAIRMAN NORTH
SEN. GAMAWA BABAWA GARBA
BAUCHI
NORTH EAST
4
NATIONAL
SECRETARY
SENATOR IBRAHIM TSAURI
KATSINA
NORTH-WEST
5
DEPUTY NAT.
SECRETARY
DR. AGBO
EMMANUEL
BENUE NORTH-CENTRAL
6
NATIONAL
TREASURER
HON. ARIBISALA ADEWALE
EKITI
SOUTH-WEST
7
DEP. NATIONAL TREASURER
ALH. WADA MASU
KANO
NORTH-WEST
8
FINANCIAL SECRETARY
ABDULLHAI
HUSSEINI MAIBASARA
NIGER NORTH-CENTRAL
9
DEP. FIN. SEC
HON.
IRONA ALPHONSUS GERALD
IMO
SOUTH-EAST
10
NAT. ORG. SECRETARY
COL. AUSTIN AKOBUNDU (RTD)
ABIA
SOUTH-EAST
11
DEP. NAT. ORG. SECRETARY
BARR. HASSAN YAKUBU
NASARAWA NORTH-EAST
12
PUBLICITY SECRETARY
KOLA OLOGBONDIYAN
KOGI NORTH-CENTRAL
13
DEP. NAT. PUB. SECRETARY
HON. DIRAN
ODEYEMI
OSUN SOUTH-WEST
14
NATIONAL LEGAL ADVISER
BAR. EMMANUEL ENOIDEM
AKWA IBOM SOUTH-SOUTH
15
DEP. NAT. LEGAL ADVISER
BAR. AHMED BELLO LIMAN
SOKOTO NORTH-WEST
16
NATIONAL
AUDITOR
MAI ADAMU
MUSTAFA
YOBE
NORTH-EAST
17
DEP. NAT. AUDITOR
MISS
DIVINE AMINA ARONG
CROSS
RIVER SOUTH SOUTH
18
NATIONAL WOMEN LEADER
HAJ. MARIYA WAZIRI
KEBBI
NORTH-WEST
19
DEP. NAT. WOMEN LEADER
UMORU ADIZET AUDREY HADIZAT
EDO
SOUTH-SOUTH
20
NAT. YOUTH LEADER
RT. HON. UDEH
OKOYE
ENUGU SOUTH-EAST
21
DEP. NAT. YOUTH
LEADER
UMAR BABANGIDA MAINA
ADAMAWA
NORTH-EAST
Former acting
National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr Uche Secondus, has
been elected as the National Chairman of the party.
Secondus scored 2,000 votes out of 2,396 votes cast at the
party’s national convention, which ended in the early hours of Sunday at the
Eagle Square, Abuja.
Chairman of the Electoral Sub-Committee of the convention and
former Governor of Benue, Gabriel Suswan, announced the results and said that
the election for chairmanship position was keenly contested by four candidates.
“In this contest, nine gentlemen indicated their interests to
contest, but here, four of them sent letters of withdrawal and so four were
left.
“The other ones we were told have withdrawn but there was no
letter to that effect.
“The four gentlemen that contested were Uche Secondus, Chief Raymond
Dokpesi, Founder of Daar Communications; Prof. Tunde Adeniran, former Education
Minister and Prof. Taoheed Adedoja, former Minister of Sports and Special
Duties.
“Secondus scored 2,000 votes; Dokpesi, 66; Adeniran, 230 while
Adedoja scored no vote,” Suswan said.
The candidates
that withdrew were Chief Bode George, former Deputy National Chairman; Gbenga
Daniel, Rasheed Ladoja, erstwhile Governors of Ogun and Oyo States,
respectively, and Jimi Agbaje, PDP governorship candidate in Lagos State in
2015 elections.
Other elected officers were Sen. Babayo Garmawa, Deputy National
Chairman (North); Mr Yemi Akinwunmi, Deputy National Chairman (South); Sen.
Umar Tsauri, National Secretary and Mr Agbo Emmanuel, Deputy National Secretary.
Retired Col. Austin Akinbundu is new National Organising
Secretary, Yakubu Hassan, Deputy National Organizing Secretary; Mr Kola
Ologbondiyan, National Publicity Secretary and Diran Odeyemi, Deputy National
Publicity Secretary.
Mr Abdullahi Maibasira emerged National Financial Secretary,
Irona Gerald, Deputy National Financial Secretary; Aribisala Adewale,
National Treasurer; Wada Masu, Deputy National Treasurer; Adamu Mustapha,
National Auditor and Arong Divine, Deputy National Auditor.
Mariya Umar was elected National Women Leader, Umoru Hadiza,
Deputy National Women Leader, and Emmanuel Enoidem, National Youth Leader.
The Chairman of the Convention Planning Committee and Governor
of Delta, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, commended the Election Sub-Committee for “job well
done”.
He also commended all the candidates and delegates who
participated in elections and party leaders and members for cooperation that
ensured the success of the convention.
Secondus’ closest rival,
Professor Tunde Adeniran however stormed out of the Eagle Square, Abuja, venue
of the Convention before the completion of the election, alleging fraud.
He protested the emergence of
a ‘unity list’ (which contained the names of favoured candidates for the 21
positions available for election yesterday), alleged compulsion of delegates to
vote for those on the list, alleged stuffing of ballot boxes and sudden
change of ballot boxes midway into the election of candidates.
Adeniran, Education Minister
during the Obasanjo presidency, said the affairs of the party should be handed
over to the Board of Trustees (BoT) which should conduct a fresh election.
Media mogul and another
chairmanship candidate, Dr. Raymond Dokpesi, also decried irregularities and
malpractices during the proceedings.
Secondus, enjoying the
massive backing of PDP governors, was number one on the ‘unity list’.
He took a wide lead once
counting of the votes began last night.
Adeniran and Dokpesi were
left to struggle for a few votes.
Worried by the development,
Adeniran walked out of the convention venue.
According to poll trend
monitored by our correspondent, the delegates overwhelmingly endorsed and voted
for Secondus.
A former minister, who spoke
in confidence with our correspondent, said:”The PDP governors and some of our
respected elders did their homework and we all agreed to adopt the Unity List
which is fair to all.
“We reached a consensus on
Secondus and all those on the list as the next members of the National Working
Committee.
“The election was a walkover
for Secondus and 20 others whose victory will soon be announced.
“In fact, some of those who
stepped down earlier also adopted the Unity List and mobilized their state
delegates to vote along the list.”
Adeniran and some of his
supporters walked out of the Eagle Square, Abuja at about 9.11pm in protest
against the adoption of the Unity List and compelling of delegates to vote for
those on the list.
The Director of Media of his
Campaign Organization, Mr. Taiwo Akeju said the process was highly
compromised to achieve a predetermined end.
He accused Governors Nyesom
Wike of Rivers State and his Ekiti State counterpart, Ayo Fayose of imposing
Secondus on the party.
His words: ?”We reject the
entire electoral process. The election has been grossly compromised to achieve
a predetermined end. The illegal unity list was prepared by Governors Wike and
Ayodele Fayose to foist on the entire delegates.
“Consequently, we submit that
this election is a sham and the result therefore is unacceptable and rejected
in its entirety.
“We consider this so-called
election as a travesty of democracy and due ?process, which further entrenches
the unwholesome culture of impunity that has done a great deal of damage to the
party? in the past.”
“Our candidate, Prof.
Adeniran and his supporters have just walked out of the convention because the
election was a sham.
“The PDP governors came up
with Unity List and they and their foot soldiers were forcing delegates to vote
for those on the list.
“We were shocked to witness
open stuffing of ballot boxes and replacement of boxes against our candidate.
The election was not free and fair, it was a sad day for democracy in Nigeria.”
A former Minister of National
Planning, Prof. Abubakar Olanrewaju Suleiman said he would not accept the
result of election into the office of the National Publicity Secretary because
the ballot box omitted one of his names, leaving delegates confused.
“I won’t accept the results,
I have written the electoral committee and I will go to court,” he said.
Suleiman, in his petition
entitled “Unlawful Exclusion of Prof. Abubakar Olanrewaju Suleiman and the
Demand For Cancellation of Election into the office of National Publicity
Secretary” said: “I am constrained to write to demand for cancelation of
election into the office of National Publicity Secretary of our great Party in
the on-going Elective Party Convention on the ground of unlawful exclusion of
my name as one of candidates contesting for the above mentioned post of Party.
“I am one of the candidates
of the above mentioned post in the ongoing elective party convention having
obtained application form, duly screened and my candidacy approved to stand for
the election.
“I have also campaigned
across the Nation seeking the support of the bonafide delegates to the
convention.
“To my chagrin and utter
constellation, I was informed that my name was conspicuously missing from the
list of candidates vying for the post of National Publicity Secretary which
lists were pasted in booths earmarked for voting into the office of National
Publicity Secretary.
“My names are Prof Abubakar
Olanrewaju Suleiman, with Suleiman as my surname, a name I have borne and by
which I am known by all and sundry. Needless to say this is the name by which I
am identify by my teeming supporters who where unlawfully disenfranchised.
Suffice to mention that at no time did I hold myself out to bear other name
without any other name but ABUBAKAR OLANREWAJU SULEIMAN, Olanrewaju merely
being my middle name.
“I therefore pray that the
august body would do right by me by cancelling the purported election of
today…”
A former Political Editor of
ThisDay, Mr. Kola Ologbodiyan was the favoured candidate for the national
publicity secretary on the Unity List.
Ologbodiyan has the backing
of former Senate President David Mark.
The PDP has been enmeshed in
a serious leadership crisis since losing power in the 2015 presidential
election.
It broke into two factions with
Senator Ali Modu Sheriff leading one and Senator Ahmed Makarfi leading the
other until the Supreme Court proclaimed the Makarfi faction as the legal one.
The Makarfi-led interim
National Committee was formally dissolved yesterday.
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