How Jonathan, govs arranged Mu’azu as new PDP chair

 Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu

A  former Governor of Bauchi State, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, has been chosen as the new Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party by President Goodluck Jonathan and governors.

He will replace the former chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, who resigned from his position on Wednesday.

Mu’azu was picked as a consensus candidate at a meeting between President Goodluck Jonathan and the governors of the party at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Sunday night.

The meeting ended at 1:22 am on Monday (today) morning. But sadly, the EFCC  is still prosecuting the new PDP boss over a multi-billion Naira corruption case that was uncovered while he was still in office as a governor.

Investigations showed that the governors had rejected the choice of Mohammed Wakil by the President and his wife, Patience.

Some reasons were said to have been adduced for the rejection of Wakil,   a former House of Representatives  Leader.  The reasons  included his alleged inability to carry people along when he was a principal officer of the House.

A governor  told  one of our correspondents after the meeting  that the President was  bent on picking Wakil, who had undergone  screening by the security agents for a  ministerial position.

The governor, who asked not to be named, said   the President wanted Wakil at all costs  but   was vehemently opposed by the governors.

He said the meeting lasted long because  it was difficult for the President to accept  defeat.

The governor said, “Yes, we have picked Mu’azu. He will be presented to the members of the PDP NEC on Monday(today) for ratification.”

It was also gathered that the Governor of Bauchi State, Malla. Isa Yuguda, later agreed with the choice of Mu’azu, after his initial opposition.

Mu’azu was last week sworn in as the chairman of the National Pensions  Commission   by Jonathan.

Mu’azu  was born on June 11, 1955 and was governor of Bauchi State   from May 29,  1999 to  May 29, 2007.

 Before the Villa meeting,  the North-East governors, met at the Bauchi State Governor’s Lodge in Abuja.

The PDP chairmanship post was zoned to the North-East.

The  Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum, Godswill Akpabio, and Bayelsa State Governor Seriake  Dickson were said to have attended the meeting by the North-East governors before the one at the Villa.

Before the two meetings, the President had a private meeting with  Seriake ostensibly over who would emerge as the new chairman of the PDP.

Before Sunday, a  former National Publicity Secretary of the party, Prof. Rufai Alkali   (Gombe State); ex- Acting National  Secretary,    Dr. Musa Babayo (Bauchi); and   a former  Minister of Commerce,  Amb. Idris Waziri (Taraba),  were touted as some of the   five  top contenders for the job.

An  ex- Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mr. Ibrahim Bunu (Borno) and the current   Minister of Transport, Sen. Idris Umar, who is believed to be  the choice of  the wife of the President Goodluck Jonathan,  Patience,  were also  in the race.

During the meeting between Jonathan and the governors, journalists were asked to leave the  venue .

The governors in attendance   were  Jonah Jang (Plateau), Seidu Dakingari (Kebbi), Gabriel Suswam (Benue), Theodore Orji (Abia),  Ibrahim Dankwambo (Gombe),   Martins Elechi (Ebonyi) and Sullivan Chime (Enugu).

Others were Ibrahim Shema (Katsina), Ramalan Yero (Kaduna), Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta) Idris Wada (Kogi),  Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Liyel Imoke (Cross River),  Garba Umar (Taraba), Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa) and Adamawa State Deputy Governor, Bala Ngilari.

All the governors from the North-East arrived the same time with Akpabio and Dickson, thus confirming  the belief  that they were also at the Bauchi Governor’s Lodge..

Vice-President Namadi Sambo and the President of the Senate, David Mark, also attended the meeting alongside the party’s Deputy National Chairman, Uche Secondus.