By Henry Umoru

ABUJA—STRONG indications emerged weekend that the new chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, would spend six months in office, if the political intrigues going on at National Caucus, Board of Trustees, BoT, hold sway tomorrow.

The North East geo-political zone is expected to produce the chairman.

A source told Vanguard that the matter would be pushed to the National Caucus today as well as the BoT and onward passage to the National Executive Committee, NEC, meeting tomorrow for ratification.

According to a high ranking member of the party’s NEC: “We are going to present before the National Caucus and the Board of Trustees, BoT for an approval that there should be a longer period for the new national chairman of the party, at least for six months to enable him learn on the job and deliver. We are already in the middle of February, next month is March which is too short.”

The party had last week, for the third time in two weeks, shifted its NEC, meeting.

In a statement by PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, the NEC meeting would now hold tomorrow.

Before the NEC, National Caucus of the party would hold its meeting today, while that of BoT, would hold tomorrow before NEC.

Metuh had said: “In view of requests by critical stakeholders and leaders of our great party, the National Working Committee, NWC, has approved the shifting of the meetings of key statutory organs of the party earlier scheduled for this week (last week) to next week (this week).

“In the new schedule, the meeting of the National Caucus of the party has been shifted to Monday, February 15, 2016, at 7pm. In the same vein, the meeting of the Board of Trustees, BoT, will now hold on the morning of Tuesday, February 16, while the National Executive Committee, NEC, meeting will hold at 2pm on the same Tuesday, February 16, 2016.”

As PDP NEC meets tomorrow, Vanguard gathered that the North East would present six names, including former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mr. Abba Gana, from Borno; Ambassador Wilberforce Juta from Adamawa State; National Vice Chairman, North East, Senator Girgiri Lawal from Yobe State; former Chief of Staff to ex- Governor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State, Shehu Gabam and Senator Saidu Kumo from Gombe State.

According to a source, Taraba State has no candidate as it is said to be pushing for Wilberforce, the former governor of the defunct Gongola State.
In this new arrangement, it appears that former Political Adviser to past President Goodluck Jonathan, Ahmed Gulak, may have been schemed out of the entire process as stakeholders from his state, Adamawa, have already endorsed Ambassador Juta for the position.

It would also be recalled that prior to the 2012 National Convention, the position of national chairmanship position of the PDP was zoned to the North-East and Alhaji Bamanga Tukur from Adamawa State was elected, but later resigned for Adamu Muazu from Bauchi to replaced him.

Muazu, however, resigned after the party lost the 2015 presidential election, and was replaced by his deputy, Prince Uche Secondus, in acting capacity.

An Abuja High Court on December 16, ruled in favor of Gulak, mandating Secondus to vacate the seat within 14 days and allow a member of the party from the zone to emerge the national chairman.

There was confusion on Wednesday last week at the National Secretariat of PDP as the former Political Adviser to past President Goodluck Jonathan, Alhaji Ahmed Gulak, stormed the secretariat with his supporters and made himself the national chairman of the party.

Gulak, who arrived the national headquarters of PDP at 1:42pm in company of other aides of former President Jonathan, went straight to the third floor of the building, and asked that the office of the National Chairman be opened for him.

He was later to immediately move to the National Working Committee, NWC, conference hall to address journalists, using the chair of the national chairman.