From Taiwo Amodu, Abuja
IN a move to checkmate its National Chairman, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff from participating in the forthcoming national convention of the party, the Forum of former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ministers has recommended that members of the outgoing national working committee be barred from contesting any of the positions.
Daily Sun investigation showed that Senator Sheriff reportedly deployed his foot soldiers to lobby stakeholders that the office of national chairman be retained in the North East.
But, ahead of the inaugural sitting of the zoning committee of the party, led by Akwa-Ibom State Governor, Udom Emmanuel, the forum, led by former Special Duties minister, Saminu Turaki, in their position paper to be presented to the committee, proposed that Senator Sheriff and other members of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) be disqualified. They noted that it would give the party a new beginning.
“In order to give the party a new lease of life, it is imperative that a Clause in the Guidelines for the 2016 National Convention should include a provision barring all those who have served the party especially during the immediate past tenure of the outgoing National Working Committee members from contesting for any office of the party under the new dispensation.”
In deference to the recommendations of the Senator Ike Ekweremadu Post Election Review Committee which recommended that the North should produce the party presidential candidate in 2019, the Forum aligned itself with it , but went further to propose that the North should equally produce the Senate President and Deputy Speaker.
The Forum further proposed to the Governor Udom Emmanuel Committee that the South should produce the party national chairman in the next month national convention and produce Vice-President, Deputy Senate President and Speaker of House of Representatives, in the event that the erstwhile ruling party wins the 2019 presidential elections.
Other electives offices of the party it urged the Zoning Committee to allot to the South include, the office of deputy national secretary, national treasurer, national legal adviser, national youth leader and national organising secretary.