Former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George, on Thursday, met with leaders of the party from the North-East in continuation of consultations with stakeholders over his bid for the highest office in the party.
The convention of the party will hold in Port Harcourt, Rivers State on Wednesday.
George first met with the North-East zonal executive led by National Vice Chairman, North-East, Ambassador Emmanuel Njuwa, at Ibro Hotel, Abuja.
Thereafter, he met with the zonal Caucus at Transcorp Hilton, with the two PDP governors from the zone, namely Ibrahim Dankwambo of Gombe State and Darius Ishiaku of Taraba State in attendance.
At the two meetings, George sought the support of stakeholders from the zone for his election to the post of national chairman, promising to reposition and rebrand the party in line with the vision of its founding fathers to accommodate all interests and “promote the common good above personal ambition”.
He praised the founding fathers such as Mallam Adamu Ciroma, Chief Alex Ekwueme, the late Alhaji Abubakar Rimi and the late Chief Solomon Lar for their foresight in introducing the zoning system to give every part of the country a sense of belonging and for their insistence that the party be guided by justice, equity and fairness.
He said that with his vast knowledge of the affairs of the party, having occupied the post of National Vice Chairman and Deputy National Chairman, he was the best candidate that could take the party to greater heights and ensure its return to the hearts of the people and to power in 2019.
He noted that he successfully discharged various assignments given to him by the party across the country in the past which included settlement of conflicts and promotion of the party with resultant electoral victories such as the historic wrestling of five of the six South-West states from the Alliance for Democracy (AD) in 2003.
Also speaking, the National Vice Chairman, PDP South-West, Dr Eddy Olafeso, who accompanied George and his large entourage, informed the PDP North-East leaders that the South-West had adopted George as the preferred candidate of the zone.
Olafeso urged PDP leaders in the North-East and other parts of the country to support the choice of the zone since the position in contest had been zoned to it.
Responding, Njuwa said George and his laudable track record in the party was well known and that his competence and fitness for the post of national chairman could never be in doubt.
He expressed the support of the North-East for George and urged him to spread his consultations as wide as possible across the country.
