National Chairman must come from North Central — PDP Youth

Ahead of the much-anticipated National Executive Committee, NEC, meeting of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, the leader of the party’s National Youth Frontier, Usman Okai Austin, has said the national chairman of the party must come from the North Central part of Nigeria.

Okai said there is an ongoing underground plot to hold PDP down and make it weaker ahead of the 2027 general election by installing the party’s acting national chairman, Umar Damagum, as substantive chairman following the exit of Iyorchia Ayu.

In a statement he signed, Okai said: “We find ourselves at a crossroads, where the very essence of our party, the Peoples Democratic Party, is under threat.

“We are all witnesses to the recent attempts to undermine the democratic process within our beloved party.

“The position of the National Chairman, a position that rightfully belongs to the North Central region, is now being challenged. Let me be clear: you cannot change the rules of the game in the middle of the game.”

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He explained that Chief Solomon Lar was replaced by Barnabas Gemade; Gemade replaced by Audu Ogbeh; and Ogbe replaced by Ahmadu Ali in December 2004, after which it moved to the South East where Prince Vincent Ogbulafor was elected, who was later replaced by Okwesilieze Nwodo, before moving to the North East, from Alhaji Bamanga Tukur to Adamu Muazu to Modu Sheriff.

The statement added: “Ayu was duly elected in a meticulously organised national convention.

“His mandate was given to him by the collective will of the party members, and it is not for any individual, from any corner of our great nation, to swoop in and seize what is rightfully his.

“The principles of democracy dictate that the will of the people must prevail. It is a fundamental tenet of our party, one that we have fought for, bled for, and sacrificed for. We cannot allow it to be trampled upon by the ambitions of a few.

“To those who seek to subvert the will of the people, I say this: you may have power, you may have influence, but you do not have the right to disregard the voice of the party members. You do not have the right to disregard the democratic process that we hold dear.

“But let us not forget that this is not just about one man or one region. This is about the soul of our party. This is about the principles that we hold dear. This is about the future of democracy in our nation.”