THISDAY 21st January 2010


With the emergence of President Goodluck Jonathan as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate for the April poll, the North is now moving to occupy the chairmanship of the ruling party.

As a first step, the geopolitical zone wants to retain Dr. Halliru Muhammed Bello as acting national chairman till the election.
PDP Northern governors and leaders argue, according to THISDAY sources, that since the presidency seems to be going to the South, the North should keep the party chairmanship.

With that, the plan by some PDP chieftains in the South-east geo-political zone to produce a new chairman to replace Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo who was forced to resign last week may suffer a setback.

Some PDP Northern governors have already begun moves to have Bello as acting chairman till the April elections and make the appointment permanent after the polls.

But the moves by the Northern governors may pitch them against their counterparts in the South-east who believe [size=16pt]the zone should produce Nwodo’s successor following PDP’s zoning arrangement[/size].

The position of national chairman remains [size=18pt]zoned [/size]to the South-east.

PDP sources said the South-east is looking in the direction of Imo and Ebonyi States to get Nwodo’s replacement.
Among those being positioned to replace Nwodo are former Foreign Affairs Minister Ojo Maduekwe, former Senate President Anyim Pius Anyim, PDP National Vice-Chairman, South-east Olisa Metuh and former National Vice-Chairman of the zone Fidelis Ozichukwu.

But THISDAY understands that about nine PDP governors in the region are billed to make a submission to President Jonathan early next week on the need to retain Bello in his present position as acting chairman until after May 29 when a new tenure begins.

Though the South-east caucus of the party had begun concerted moves to produce a successor to Nwodo, the Northern governors, sources said, feel their is a need to have stability in the party in the build-up to the April election.

They argue that having a Northerner in charge of the party would melt the little vestige of opposition against President Jonathan.
According to them, the opposition is most pronounced in the North-west zone, where the president’s opponent in the party’s presidential primary election, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, won in four states.

A top member of PDP, who is also a leading proponent of Jonathan candidature, told THISDAY that an informal discussion had already been held by the governors and that their position would be articulated this weekend.

"We feel the acting chairman is capable of steering the affairs of the party until election. He is vast in the politics of the party having been one of the founding fathers. He has held important positions in the Customs as well as being a minister of the Federal Republic . Importantly, he is a PDP man through and through. So his loyalty to the party cause is not in doubt," the PDP member said.

He said having an acting chairman who hails from the North-west leading the party and President Jonathan’s campaign would pass an important symbolic message across the North during the elections.

According to him, while it is right for the South-east zone to produce the party chairman in accordance with the zoning principle of the party, the exigencies of the time make it imperative that someone from the North leads the party to the April elections.

"We are not challenging the fact that going by constitutional provision, the South-east must produce the chairman of the party. But our thinking is that the president's chances in the North will be enhanced with a Northerner as party chairman, even if its on acting capacity. For some of us working for the president, it will ease lots of our burden if we approach our people and ask for their votes, with a Northerner at the helm of affairs in the party," he added.

A top aide of the Chairman of Northern Governors Forum and Governor of Niger State, Dr. Mua’zu Babangida Aliyu, said with Bello in charge, the belief in some quarters in the North that Jonathan violated the zoning principle in PDP for selfish reasons would be laid to rest.

"You know issues were made by the pro-zoning PDP men that the president has violated the zoning principle for his own benefit alone. So if he backs the acting chairman now, no one will accuse him of being selfish and inconsiderate. It will also silence those criticising him for allegedly being anti-North,” he said.

A formal change of guard had occurred on Tuesday in PDP as its embattled chairman Nwodo was forced to step down. Bello had since stepped in fully as the acting chairman.

President Jonathan said Nwodo had to go to move the party forward.
The president was said to have lost confidence in Nwodo. Jonathan and the top echelon of PDP believe Nwodo was working for the former vice-president.

Trouble started with the way and manner the former chairman handled the waiver for Atiku without clearing with the president.
But the last straw was Nwodo’s move last week to forcibly preside at the party’s special national convention in Abuja, after an Enugu High Court had barred him from parading himself as chairman, and provide an alibi for the court to void the presidential primary.