The Peoples Democratic Party has
told Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State not to waste his resources on his
presidential ambition, saying the party’s candidate for the 2019 election will
come from the North.
The party said all its members
were aware of the zoning formula it adopted for both its presidential ticket
and the position of the national chairman.
Fayose had sent letters to some
leaders of the party to inform them about his decision to run for the
Presidency on the platform of the PDP.
The event, according to a copy of
the letter sent to our correspondent, will hold in Abuja on Thursday.
The letter was signed by the
governor under the banner of Ayo Fayose Presidential Campaign Organisation.
It read in part, “My dear leader,
it is with deep sense of responsibility that I write to inform you of my
intention to seek the ticket/mandate of our party to contest the 2019
presidential election, considering your support and commitment towards our
great party, the Peoples Democratic Party, it becomes imperative to keep you
informed and seek your support.
“This ambition is however without
prejudice to our party’s position, but in the overall interest of the party and
our country.
“I urge that all hands should be
on deck to ensure victory in our quest to return to the Presidential Villa,
Abuja in 2019.”
Expressing surprise at the action of the governor, the National
Publicity Secretary of the party, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, called on Fayose to
respect the decisions taken by the party on zoning.
He wondered why Fayose would want
to disobey the party despite his position as a leader, who he said, was also
present at the national convention where the decisions were taken.
Adeyeye, who spoke exclusively to
our correspondent on the issue said, “The highest organ of the party, which is
the national convention, zoned the presidential ticket of the PDP to the North.
That has not changed. The same national convention zoned the position of the
national chairman to the South. The convention has yet to change any of these
two.
“That (national convention) is
the supreme organ of the party. Those decisions are binding on all members of
the party. Nobody can alter these
decisions.”
“The governor is a member of the
party and was at the convention where these decisions were taken. As a leader
of the party, one expected the governor to respect the party and its decisions.
If someone in such an office is breaking the decisions of the party, what do
you expect from the rank and file. “
Our correspondent gathered that
Fayose had once visited the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the PDP, Walid
Jibrin, at his residence in Abuja, where he solicited his support for his
ambition.
A source close to Jibrin,
however, said the governor was reminded of the party’s zoning formula, to which
Fayose was said to have responded that he was constitutionally qualified to
run.
Sources at the party national
headquarters told our correspondent that Fayose could be working to deny the
South-West the opportunity of producing the party’s national chairman.
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