Jimi Agbaje, one of the
contenders for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chairmanship position, has
withdrawn from the race.
Agbaje announced his withdrawal
in a letter he wrote to the chairman of the party’s national convention
planning committee.
His withdrawal came shortly after
Bode George, also a contender in the race, withdrew alleging fraud in the
convention.
Agbaje said his reason for
withdrawing is to increase the chance of the south-west producting the next
chairman of the PDP.
The party zoned the chairmanship
slot to the southern region of the country and of the eight contenders, six are
from the south-west while two are from the south-south.
In the letter seen by TheCable,
Agbaje said he has always expressed “strong belief that the next national
chairman of our great party should come from the south-west”.
“I am however convinced that with
7 out of all 9 aspirants coming from the south-west (prior to George’s
withdrawal), this multiplicity of contenders will work to the detriment of our
zone when it comes to voting,” he wrote.
“Delegates’ votes split 7 ways
will not produce a chairman from the south-west. It therefore becomes necessary
to prune our numbers down to no more than two,” the letter read.
“With less than 24 hours to the
convention, I have painfully decided to withdraw from the race hoping that
others will join me in bringing down the number such that the south-west can
have a fighting chance of clinching the national chairmanship of the PDP.
“The support from serving and
past governors, senators, members of the house of representatives, women, youth
and opinion leaders has been tremendous.
“While sincerely thanking them
for their unflinching loyalty, I empathize with the great disappointment they
must feel at this decision. I plead that we all put the overall interest of PDP
first.
“I pledge my support to whoever
emerges as the national chairman as determined at the national convention.”
The convention is ongoing in
Abuja, with 2,233 delegates expected to vote.
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