Except for five, all live previous national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) since 1999 have been designated as members of the party’s Presidential Campaign Committee (PCC) for next year’s presidential election.
Some former governors and presiding officials of the National Assembly who are still members of the party were also named as council members.
The main opposition party revealed the names of the 352-member committee on Thursday in Abuja.
Its mandate is to organize the presidential campaign of Atiku Abubakar and his running partner, Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, for the 2023 election.
On September 28, the council will be inaugurated.
Atiku, the country’s vice president from 1999 to 2007, was voted the party’s flag bearer in May after defeating 12 other candidates. He also ran as the party’s candidate in the 2019 election, but he was defeated by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The PCC is led by Akwa Ibom State Governor Udom Emmanuel, with Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed and Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde chosen as vice chairmen, north and south, respectively.
Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal was chosen director general of the Presidential Campaign Management Committee (PCMC), with four others acting as his deputies in crucial areas including as operations, administration, technical and systems, and research and strategy.
A review of the list revealed that the party’s prior substantive and interim chairs since 1999 were named to the PCC, despite the fact that several of them are no longer politically active.
Ahmadu Ali, Vincent Ogbulafor, Haliru Mohammed (previous acting national chairman), Kawu Baraje, Adamu Mu’azu, Ahmed Makarfi (caretaker), and Okwesilieze Nwodo have been appointed.
Mr Nwodo, the Third Republic governor of Enugu State, has been appointed as the PCMC’s deputy director general (research and strategy).
Barnabas Gemade, Audu Ogbeh, Bamanga Tukur, Ali Modu Sheriff, and Uche Secondus are the previous PDP chairman who have not been appointed to the PCC.
While Messrs Gemade, Ogbeh, and Modu-Sheriff are current members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), no explanation was offered for leaving out Mr Secondus, who served as the party’s chairman from 2017 to 2021. Mr Tukur, for his part, is no longer politically engaged.
Similarly, Mr. Ogbeh, the head of the Arewa Consultative Forum, the northern socio-cultural organization, is not involved in active politics.
Former Vice President Alex Ekwueme, who served as the party’s temporary chairman when it was created in 1998, and Ex-Governor Solomon Lar, who headed the party from 1998 to 1999, are both absent.
Except for Mr Ali, all of the chairman resigned under contentious circumstances.
The party also reinstated other former officials, including three former national secretary, Wale Oladipo, Ben Obi, and Umar Tsauri, two former spokespersons, Emmanuel Ibeshi and Olisa Metuh, and a former National Women Leader, Josephine Anenih, who subsequently served as women affairs minister.
Former Senate President Ken Nnamani, who was a member of the party, has subsequently joined the APC, where he once aimed to be President of the nation.
Evans Enwerem and Chuba Okadigbo, who were elected senators on the PDP ticket, are late.
Former Speaker Tambuwal and Salisu Buhari are both members of the House of Representatives. Mr Ihedioha, Austin Opara, and Chibudom Nwuche are former deputy speakers on the list.
Yakubu Dogara and Dimeji Bankole, two former Speakers who were members of the party, are now members of the ruling APC.
Likewise, Aminu Masari, the current governor of Katsina, and Patrick Etteh. Ghali Umar Na’Abba has since resigned from the PDP.
The campaign council also includes some sitting senators and members of the House of Representatives, as well as a number of previous ministers.
Surprisingly, other presidential candidates who competed against Atiku in the May primary were listed as campaigners. They are Sam Ohuabunwa and Mohammed Hayatudeen, who withdrew from the contest just before the primary.
Speaking on the composition, Diran Odeyemi, a former PDP deputy national press secretary, said individuals nominated to the committee are those “who know the method of winning elections.”
He also stated that the PDP has sufficient assets to conduct the 2023 presidential election and assure Atiku’s victory as the country’s next president.
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