Ahead of the Peoples Democratic Party’s May 21 national convention, the South-West chapter of the party on Thursday declared its support for the North to retain the PDP’s national chairmanship position.
Leaders from the zone told the National Chairman of the party, Ali Modu Sheriff, when they paid him a visit in Abuja that the South-West was not interested in the post.
This came as Sheriff pledged to unite the PDP members from the zone.
The PDP’s South-West leaders made their position known in a paper they presented to Sheriff and other members of the party’s National Working Committee.
The situation report on the state of the party in the zone was signed by Sen. Buruji Kashamu, Sen. Teslim Folarin, the chairmen of the party in the six South-West states and 30 others.
The group was led by the South-West National Vice-Chairman, Mr. Makanjuola Ogundipe.
They also endorsed Kashamu as the leader of the party in the zone.
The party chiefs said the PDP would become a regional party if the South got the national chairmanship position.
The report said, “We say this because out of the five states in the South-East, the PDP has three governors. We have five governors out of the six states in the South-South. In the South-West, we have two governors.
“In the whole of the North, we have only two governors. We need to strengthen the North. If not, the PDP will be branded as a regional party if we go ahead to pick the national chairman from the South.”
Sheriff said, “We cannot afford to divide our house. If it means begging everybody, I will. You should resolve your differences.”
Senator Ayo Adeosun, who spoke on behalf of delegates from Oyo State, admitted that there was a serious problem in the party in South-West.
He said, “There are some influential people who are not here. We urge you to bring them on board. Lagos would have been ours but for an internal wrangling.”
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