From JULIANA TAIWO-OBALONYE, Abuja
Former Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Ahmadu Ali
is out of the race for the Board of Trustees (BoT) chairmanship. A source said
that because he hailed from the North Central same as the BoT’s secretary, Sen.
Awalid Jibri disqualified the ex-education minister. The party’s attempt to
elect a successor to ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo, ended in a statement in
Abuja Tuesday night.
The source said, a new chairman that will emerge, would not be
through consensus. The member who would not want his name in print, however,
said at no time in the cause of its 42nd meeting was the issue of consensus
discussed, rather, the meeting concentrated on getting things right that will
produce a credible chairman when election comes. The source who is a diplomat,
said: “When the time for election comes there will be no consensus as whoever
emerges, will be voted in.
“There was no effort to get consensus at all. That did not even
arise at the meeting because we wanted to get things right. The source noted
that despite the stronger contenders, the fight will be between the former
Senate President Ken Namani and Chief Tony Anenih. He also disclosed that the
issue of age also dominated the discussion.
“If you are below 50, you cannot be a member except you are
there by the office you hold like the Speaker of the House of Representatives,
he is not yet 50, but he is a member of BoT as a result of the position he
holds. “A lot of people who are presently members is as a result of their
nominations from their state government and that is not what the constitution
of the party says”, the source said.
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