Anenih to Jonathan: Declare your intention on 2015

The Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Tony Anenih, on Sunday night challenged President Goodluck Jonathan to make his intention towards the 2015 presidential election known to Nigerians on or before the end of next month.

Speaking during the PDP post- convention dinner, which was held at the Banquet Hall of the State House, Abuja, Anenih said that taking such a decision is necessary in order to give the party a proper direction.


The dinner earlier scheduled to hold immediately after the special convention of the party was postponed because of the crisis rocking the party.

It would be recalled that seven governors – Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano), Abdulafatah Ahmed (Kwara), Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Aliyu Wammako (Sokoto), and Murtala Nyako (Adamawa) left the venue of the convention with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to form a parallel executive for the “new PDP.”

Before the new group named its executive including the National Chairman, Kawu Baraje, National Secretary, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, Deputy National Chairman, Dr. Sam Jaja, the aggrieved governors had demanded the sack of Bamanga Tukur, citing lack of internal democracy in the party.

The Sunday night dinner party was attended by those loyal to the Tukur -led PDP faction as none of the aggrieved governors attended the dinner.

Also, some of the elders mediating in the crisis rocking the party like former President Olusegun Obasanjo and former Military President, Ibrahim Babangida were conspicuously absent at the dinner.

Anenih said, “I will appeal to our leader, the President of this country that at the end of September or as we enter October, we should not tell anybody that the time is not right, I think the time is right. It is good that we tell our people where we going to, what our journey will be like.”

Referring to the on-going reconciliatory efforts in the party, he said that even though the task ahead is enormous, “we must be seen as a team and not as a group.”