A political support group within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has advised the party’s presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, to revisit the composition of the Presidential Campaign Council.
The group stated that this became necessary to avoid the mistake made in 2019 where the Director-General of the Atiku Presidential Campaign Organisation, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, defected to another party.
The group stated in a protest letter to Abubakar that he should make Chief Raymond Dokpesi the Director-General of the Atiku Presidential Campaign Organisation (APCO) 2023.
The group which goes by the name “Elders Forum for Atiku 2023’’ titled its letter to Abubakar as: “Protest against the composition of directors in the national campaign management committee.’’
The letter was signed by its National Coordinator, Pa Lawrence Okojie, and the National Secretary, Mr A.K Peters.
It stated in the letter that its attention had been drawn to the list of the newly-appointed directors in the National Campaign Management Committee (NCMC).
“We, the Elders Forum for Atiku 2023, write to protest the composition of the Directors and Deputy Directors at the NCMC.
“We strongly believe that proper considerations were not taken in arriving at these appointments as not all the Deputy Directors-General are duly committed in the matter.
“We believe that competence, loyalty, sincerity, experience and resilience in the struggle should be the essential ingredients that should have been considered in the selection of directors and deputy directors of the NCMC.
“We therefore strongly request that His Excellency should revisit these developments and do the needful to spare us a “Gbenga Daniel Part 2’’ in this 2023 presidential run,’’ the group stated.
It advised Abubakar to ensure that a person of repute such as Chief Raymond Dokpesi is appointed the Director-General Atiku Presidential Campaign Organisation (APCO) 2023.
It added that the group believed in the capacity of Dokpesi to mobilise and work with everyone for the success of the PDP at the 2023 general elections.
“It is on record that from national sensitisation to the success at the presidential primary, the galvanising role of Dokpesi as leader of the Presidential Technical Committee cannot be undermined moving forward,’’ it added.
Okojie, who led members of the forum in a protest to submit the letter at the Abuja residence of Abubakar on Wednesday, told newsmen that the PDP needed Dokpesi to coordinate the affairs of APCO.
He said that even before anyone identified with the Abubakar presidential ambition, Dokpesi took it upon himself to mobilise support for the candidate and carried everyone along.
Okojie said that the forum with its coordinators in all the 36 states and members across the grassroots was ready to work in all the polling units for the success of Abubakar.
The National Women Leader of the forum, Deborah Makinwa, said they needed Dokpesi to continue where he stopped.
Makinwa who said that she had been supporting Abubakar from Zero party to now, urged him to employ more women into his campaign council.
Some of the inscriptions on the banners carried by the protesters were “we want Dokpesi to remain the champion of the presidential campaign’’, “activate the presidential campaign without delay’’, “allow the D-Gs to choose their Deputy Directors’’.
