PDP panel to consider name change

The national leadership of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has inaugurated a contact committee for the purpose of aligning with other political parties ahead of the 2019 general elections.

It was gathered that the committee, which is headed by a former governor of Cross River State, Mr. Liyel Imoke, will also explore the possibility of tinkering with the name and insignia of the PDP.

Some key stakeholders, particularly prominent chieftains of the party that defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2014, are said to have insisted on a change of name, as one of the conditions to rejoin the PDP.

Prominent among among the APC chieftains being wooed by the leadership of PDP include the President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, former Kano State Governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, his Sokoto State counterpart, Aliyu Wamakko, as well as former Gombe State Governor, Danjuma Goje.

Others being wooed by PDP include the Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, who defected from PDP to the APC at the tail end of his tenure as Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Several serving APC members in the two chambers of the National Assembly are also said to be waiting in the wings.

It was also gathered that the high profile politicians are being wooed with tickets for choice offices, including the presidential slot, while the heavy baggage of corruption trailing the PDP has made it difficult for prospective defectors to cross over from the APC and other political parties.

While inaugurating the committee on Friday, the national chairman of PDP, Prince Uche Secondus said the party would do everything within the confines of the law to regain power in 2019.

Secondus said the past three years of President Buhari’s administration had convinced Nigerians of the need for a credible alternative in 2019.

He tasked members of the committee to reach out to Nigerians and groups on the need to forge a common front for what he described as the “political salvation” of the country.

He said, “Your committee and your nomination into it is a well-articulated decision of the party leadership to bring our open door policy to fruition.

“Just as your name connotes, you are to deploy your well versed network to help open the space and allow into our party, all those whose union with us can help in rescuing this country.

“Like we always say in this party, this umbrella is big enough to accommodate all people of patriotic ideals”.

The committee chairman Imoke promised to work tirelessly to deliver on the mandate, saying that the situation in the country has become too dangerous for well-meaning Nigerians to fold their hands in resignation.

Other members of the committee include former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, his Niger State counterpart, Babangida Aliyu, former Benue Governor, Gabriel Suswam (Benue), former Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Dr. Paul Orhii, former Aviation Minister, Kema Chikwe and a former national chairman of the PDP, Bello Haliru Mohammed among others.