National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, has promised that candidates would not be imposed in the party’s forthcoming congresses and national convention.
Sheriff gave the assurance when he received a delegation of PDP from Adamawa state led by its Chairman, Joel Madaki, at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja on Tuesday.
He said nobody in the National Working Committee (NWC) led by him would be allowed to manipulate the process in any state in the forthcoming congresses.
“We will conduct congresses that will not be manipulated by anybody. We will send people to local governments to bring out persons that the people want to be their leaders.
“I want to assure you that only the right thing will be done in Adamawa and every other state. I will not impose anybody on the people.
“Anybody that is not wanted by his people will be my friend in Abuja, but will not be imposed on the people’’, Sheriff said.
He said, “if anybody tells you that I have sent him to Adamawa, he or she is a big liar.”
According to him, the reasons why the party lost elections in Adamawa and Borno are the same.
“I don’t believe that anybody who is not accepted in his locality should come to Abuja to manipulate things to destroy the party.
“We have no reason to lose Adamawa and Borno states. The same reason why we do not have legislatures in Adamawa and Borno is the impunity with which the party was run.
“I knew everything that happened in Adamawa before the election, and I also knew we were going to lose in the state.’’
The Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, said he was optimistic that the party would be victorious in 2019 with the emergence of Sheriff as national chairman.
“I have assured all stakeholders that congresses and convention will not be as it used to be.
“Now, the people will decide their leaders. The days when someone will sit down in his house and name party executives are over. People will decide who will be their leaders.
“Our problem has always been that of manipulation, but that is all over’’, Ekweremadu said.
Earlier, Chairman of PDP in Adamawa, Madaki said that they came to pledge their support to Sheriff and also brief him on the challenges confronting the party at the state level.
Madaki expressed optimism that Sheriff would rebuild the party for greater performance in the future.
Senator Grace Bent said PDP in Adamawa State had passed through many challenges, but that the members had continued to hold on because they believed in the party’s ideology.
She urged Sheriff to call members and leaders of PDP in the state together for a meeting to unite everybody.
“Now your name is already everywhere in the state that you told some people to form an executive to conduct state congress.
“This is how it will start and problem will commence.’’
The PDP governorship aspirant in the state, Dr Umar Ardo, said influence and manipulation had led the party to the level where it is now.
“If you are able to conduct congresses and national convention successfully, PDP will take over power in 2019.
“If we succeed, we shall be successful in 2019: if we fail, the party will fail in 2019. I believe you will not fail,’’ Ardo said.
