Against the norm in the past, where they were selected from
the Trustees, twenty persons have signified their intention to become the
chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party.
The Secretary of the Board, Senator
Walid Jibril, stated this in an interview with journalists at the National
Headquarters of the party in Abuja on Tuesday.
According to him, 98 persons, who are
members of the Board, will decide who becomes the next BoT chairman.
Jibril, who refused to disclose the
names of the applicants, said doing so would be wrong as he had yet to intimate
the members of the Board who asked the applicants to signify their intention
through his office.
The BoT position became vacant last
April following the resignation of former President Olusegun Obasanjo from the
office.
Investigations by our correspondent
indicated that among those who had applied for the position are a former
Minister of Works, Chief Tony Anenih (Edo State) supported by President
Goodluck Jonathan and; a former National Chairman of the party, Senator Ahmadu
Ali (Kogi State) who has the backing of former President Olusegun Obasanjo as
well as Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu from Imo State.
In the race also are the former
President of the Senate, Ken Nnamani and a former National Deputy Chairman of
the party (South), Chief Shuaib Oyedokun.
Jibril said the board would meet on
January 8, to decide who becomes its next chairman.
He said, “Let me clear all rumours,
especially as it relates to those aspiring to lead the Board of Trustees of our
party.
“It is true that we said that all
members of the Board who are interested in the office of the Chairman of the
Board should apply by writing a letter of intent to my office.
“It is also true that some people
wrote. They (those who wrote) include those who are not even members of the
BoT.
“But it will be wrong for me to
publish the names of those who applied without getting back to the people who
asked me to do so.
“I want to get back to those who sent
me on this job first. There are 98 members of the Board who will vote on
January 8, 2013.”
Asked whether there would be a
screening committee to look at the credentials of those who applied, Jibril
said only the Board could decide that.
He added that the party’s
constitution “stipulates that its chairman and secretary are to be elected from
its members”, which indicated that non-members might be screened out.
He also said those who were not
members of the Board might not be allowed to be part of the meeting where the
voting exercise will be carried out.
The former senator however said the
Board would take into consideration the principle of Federal Character while
electing its chairman.
He denied that there were pressures
to vote for a particular candidate, adding that the Board was not thinking of a
consensus candidate.
He said this could only happen if all
the candidates agree to produce one