Some leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, have called on pioneer chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, to rescue the former ruling party from total collapse, Leadership reports.
This call became imperative following the endless leadership tussle between the Ali Modu Sheriff-led faction of the PDP and the Ahmed Makarfi-led Caretaker Committee.
According to reports, ahead of the Port Harcourt convention of the party slated for August 17, some party chieftains are rooting for Ribadu to take over the helms of leadership of the party.
The paper quoted a senior party member as saying that the choice of Ribadu was predicated on the criteria set for the kind of leadership the party would want to have in order to revamp itself ahead of the 2019 general elections.
“Though the party has indicated that the next chairman will emerge from the southern part of the country, some of us actually feel that for us now, it should be about the individual and in fact we need a strong voice from the north that is well respected to redeem the much-battered PDP image in the north.
“Yes, Ribadu actually disappointed some of us when he was approached to take over the party in February. He was like already taking up the post before he had a change of mind which created a serious crisis for us since we had fixed the NEC meeting at the time. This was how we ended up with Sheriff.
“But somehow, some critical stakeholders of the party feel we still need someone with the carriage and respect in the mould of Ribadu to lead us out of the woods. And the important thing is that both Makarfi and Sheriff are okay with the man. So, the issue is being iron out now. We are reaching out to him,” the source revealed.
Recall that Ribadu was tipped for the chairmanship position last year, shortly after the then chairman, Ahmadu Muazu, resigned from office.
However, Ribadu, who had earlier agreed to take the offer, also abandoned it on account of “lack of seriousness to truly reform the party by its top echelon”.
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