Appoint Ribadu as PDP chairman - Fani-Kayode tells party leadership

The Director of Media and Publicity, Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organisation, Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode, on Monday, said the best thing that could happen to the PDP was to appoint a former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Nuhu Ribadu, as the party’s national chairman.

The former national chairman of the party, Adamu Mu’azu, resigned on May 20 on health grounds. Since then, the deputy national chairman of the party, Chief Uche Secondus, has been acting as the national chairman of the party.

Fani-Kayode, who has changed his name to Olufemi Olu-Kayode following his acquittal of money laundering charges by a Federal High Court in Lagos, gave the advice on his official Twitter handle.

He said, “The best thing that our great party, the PDP, can do now is to draft in Nuhu Ribadu as our national chairman. We need credibility and strength.”

The PDP national convention, where the next Board of Trustees of the party would be selected, would hold in August.

A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party in Lagos State, Chief Adeseye Ogunlewe, however, said the next national chairman of the party should emerge through a democratic process.

Speaking with our correspondent in an interview on Monday, Ogunlewe maintained that in order to avoid past mistakes, internal democracy must prevail in choosing the next leader of the party.

Reacting to Fani-Kayode’s advice that Ribadu should be appointed as the party’s national chairman, he said, “I don’t know why Fani-Kayode made his recommendation but I think internal democracy must prevail.

“We must be very careful in appointing someone arbitrarily as the chairman. We must allow internal democracy to prevail. I think the next chairman should come from the North-East. Let there be a mini-congress and let those eyeing the position from the   North-East zone signify their interest and let there be an election. Then   whoever emerges as the national chairman can be presented. I believe there should be competition so that the best candidate can emerge.”

Appoint Ribadu as PDP chairman - Fani-Kayode tells party leadership