Fani-Kayode, Bode George, Agbaje, Others Set to Battle for PDP National Chairman Position Posted by

Influential Nigerian heavyweight politicians
including a former Minister of Aviation, former
PDP Deputy National Chairman and a former
Lagos governorship candidate, and others are set
to battle for the position of PDP national
chairman.

Fani-Kayode
The Director of Publicity for the Goodluck
Jonathan Campaign Organisation, Chief Femi Fani-
Kayode, is reportedly contesting the position of
the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP), should the position be zoned to the
South-West.

According to a report by Punch newspaper, the
former Minister of Aviation will be competing with
a former Deputy National Chairman of the PDP,
Chief Bode George; the governorship candidate of
the party in Lagos in 2015, Jimi Agbaje; and a
former Minister of Education, Prof. Tunde
Adeniran.

While speaking to a correspondent, Fani-Kayode’s
Media Adviser, Jude Ndukwe, said that
consultations were still ongoing but did not rule
out the possibility of the former minister
contesting, adding that FFK was under pressure to
run for the position.

Ndukwe who disclosed further that the former
minister had been on ground since the PDP crisis
started and his loyalty had never wavered, said;

“It is far too early to make this decision but I can
tell you that there is a lot of pressure on him from
various quarters to run for a key position on the
National Working Committee of the party.

“We are still waiting for the zoning formula and
the date of the convention. It is after all that has
been agreed on that we will decide whether he
will run for the national chairmanship or anything
else or not.

“One thing is clear though and that is that our
party needs strong leadership to take on the APC
Federal Government. He has that strength and
passion and he has worked very hard for the
party. He has also been defending democratic
values for the last two years. Meetings and
consultations are still going on so let us wait and
see how it all goes.”
There were also reports that the immediate past
governor of Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko,
may contest but sources close to the governor
could not give a definitive answer when contacted
on Monday, and also not be reached for comment
as he was said to be out of the country.
While also speaking to a correspondent, sources
within the PDP said that the South-South caucus
of the party was also gunning for the
chairmanship position. However, some senior
members of the party said the South-West would
not accept anything less than the chairmanship
position.

It was, however, learnt that there was a general
consensus within the party that the Vice-
Presidency position should be zoned to the
South-East.