PDP Eyes Mark As Party Shops For New Chairman

Indications emerged on Tuesday that a former President of the Senate, David Mark is being considered for the position of National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Checks by THE WHISTLER revealed that while Mark is being persuaded by key stakeholders in the various power blocs to take a shot at the job, sources close to him say he has yet to take a definite stand on the matter.

The stakeholders are said to have zeroed in on Mark, based on what they considered his demonstrable maturity and restraint in crisis situations.

A former governor of Benue State, Mr. Gabriel Suswam, has also shown interest in the position. Mark is of the Idoma stock in Benue State, while Suswam is a Tiv.

The pro Mark campaigners, made up mainly of party elders in the North Central geopolitical zone, are said to have reasoned that the PDP required a man with his kind of temperament at this critical period.

The PDP Governors Forum, chaired by the Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, is also reported to have aligned with the position of the North Central stakeholders.

The camp of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, which has been at loggerheads with the party’s governors, is said to be non committal on the matter.

On the other hand, a party source alleged that another camp, led by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, is reportedly working towards a stalemate.

The PDP has slated its national convention for August 28 in Kano, where a new national chairman and other national officers are expected to be elected for a four-year tenure.

The erstwhile ruling party has been struggling with a seemingly intractable leadership crisis that started in the build up to the 2023 general election.

The internal crisis has split the party into three factions at the national level, with the factions pursuing conflicting agenda aimed at gaining control of the party structure.

The crisis has led to a situation where three individuals are laying claim to the position of the National Secretary. The governors and the Board of Trustees (BoT) are presently backing Mr Setonji Koshoedo for the position.

They had initially picked Mr Sunday Udeh-Okoye as National Secretary but had to drop him to avoid legal entanglement that could arise from a recent Supreme Court ruling.

However, the Wike camp has continued to insist on having Senator Samuel Anyanwu retained as the substantive National Secretary.

Anyanwu was replaced with Udeh-Okoye when he left his seat to contest for the government election in Imo State in 2024.

Upon losing the Imo election, he came back to reclaim his seat, a development that triggered a crisis that has lingered to date.

On the other hand, PDP Southeast stakeholders, led by Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State, have threatened to dump the PDP if Udeh-Okoye is not declared the National Secretary.

Investigation further revealed that attempts by the party’s governors and BoT members to resolve the matter during the last National Executive Committee (NEC) were frustrated by some elements allegedly working for one of the feuding camps.

The NEC meeting held at the PDP presidential campaign headquarters, Legacy House, Maitama, Abuja on May 27.

Some of the party chieftains who attended the meeting, confided in THE WHISTLER, that the meeting was hurriedly adjourned when proceedings were about to turn rowdy.

The party had fixed another NEC meeting for June 30, ostensibly to fine tune arrangements for the national convention.

The position of the chairman was originally zoned to the North Central in 2022, leading to the emergence of Dr Iyorchia Ayu as chairman.

Ayu’s turbulent tenure was truncated shortly after 2023 by Wike and his allies in the PDP.

Following Ayu’s ouster, Umar Damagum was appointed chairman in acting capacity, pending the election of a substantive chairman from the North Central.

Damagum, who is from Yobe State, North East zone, was then the Deputy National Chairman (North).

Attempts to replace him with a candidate from the North Central zone had met with resistance from his powerful and influential backers in the PDP.