Ibrahim Mantu:named National co-ordinator

Although the Abuja convention of the  Prof Jerry Gana-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Saturday  shelved the elections of national officers,  it  adopted a former deputy senate president, Ibrahim Mantu and Professor Tunde Adeniran as coordinators, pending  the next national convention of the faction.

The convention, which lasted just two hours,  also ratified a 57-member steering committee ‎that would administer the affairs of the party nationwide.

A member of the steering committee, Chief ‎Dubem Onyia moved a motion that “in compliance with the court order, Mantu and Adeniran should run the party‎ until the next convention.” Mantu and Adeniran were upheld as the co-chairmen of the party.

Addressing the crowd, Mantu who enumerated the achievements of the PDP during its 16 years of ‎reign as the ‘biggest party in Africa’ added that the 16 years also led to mistakes that needed to be addressed by Concerned PDP Stakeholders in order to deepen democracy in the country.

The group’s concerns about the tenure of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff’ as chairman of the party and has  now been overtaken by events. But complicating was that the second faction of the party still went ahead to hold a convention in Port Harcourt and appointed a caretaker committee headed by Senator Ahmed Makarfi.

According to Mantu, the Gana-led faction  aimed at rebuilding, renewing and re-branding the party to anchor the dreams of its founding fathers  ‎and give wings to the hopes of citizens who “live in uncertainty and surrounded by a growing culture of fear.”

He said: “mindful of our role as elders and conscience of our great party, we the elders reviewing recent events‎ have come to the painful conclusion that the culture of impunity, disdain for democratic norms and utter disregard of our party’s constitution, behaviours that brought us to the 2015 loss, are rearing its ugly head again.

*From reports by Daily Trust