By Doyin Adebusuyi
Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti state has suggested that the next presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) should emerge from the North.
He also said the South-West and the South-South had had their turns and should allow the North to have a stint.
Fayose, however, stated that the South-West should produce the next national chairman of the PDP and urged contenders from the north and other zones to look for other positions.
“I believe it is the turn of the South-West to have the national chairman. We have to allow the north in the party to begin to search for a credible presidential candidate for the party,” he added.
Fayose spoke when former minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Bala Mohammed visited him in Ado Ekiti on Sunday as part of the moves to woo support for his ambition to become the PDP national chairman.
Similarly, Fayose said that the time is not yet right for the PDP to elect a substantive national chairman.
He said the present care-taker chairman, Mr. Uche Secondus, should be allowed to pilot the affairs of the party for the next five months in order to enable him conclude the on-going restructuring and re-organisation of the party.
Fayose, who differed on the zoning arrangement for the next national chairman of the PDP, also argued that the South West geo-political zone should be allowed to produce the next national chairman of the party.
“Besides, we need somebody who could take his time and use this interregnum and put the party into proper position. We do not need somebody who is trying to just finish the tenure of a former leader. The time we are now is quite a challenging one. It is not a time for someone to say he wants to just complete tenure. We should allow the caretaker committee to take over and put proper election in place for new executives of the party.
“You would recall that I told Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu to go. He’s gone now. This time we must entrust the party into the hands of credible people who would not use it to redeem their name or for personal gains. So, to me, there isn’t much that a substantive chairman can do in just five months now,” he added.
Fayose advised those eyeing the position to go to their localities and mobilise the locals for the party.
Senator Bala, whose visit appeared like a consultation told journalists that he just paid a private visit to the governor.
However, when asked if he was in Ekiti over his ambition to contest the national chairmanship of the PDP, Bala said it was no longer news that he is contesting the post.
