The ongoing crisis within the Kogi State Chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has escalated, with 13 chairmanship aspirants rejecting the consensus candidate proposed to lead the party in the state.
A committee comprising former governors and party leaders had endorsed Mr. Enemona Anyebe as the consensus candidate for the PDP chairmanship position in the state.
Speaking at a press conference in Lokoja on Tuesday, the spokesperson for the forum of Kogi State PDP chairmanship aspirants, Aruwa Ismaila, stated that the purported endorsement of Anyebe as the party’s consensus candidate was misleading and lacked legitimacy.
Ismaila emphasized, “It has become necessary to issue this rebuttal to prevent the unsuspecting public, particularly our PDP supporters and members, from being misled. We reject outright the endorsement of Mr. Anyebe as the consensus candidate, especially as it was decided by a scantly attended meeting of Kogi East critical stakeholders held in Lokoja.”
He continued, “We, the chairmanship aspirants, expressed our opposition at the meeting and advocated for the rejection of the Review report, which significantly deviated from the initial Zoning committee report led by Hon. Tom Zakari. Our stance remains unchanged.”
“We categorically reject the Elder Review Committee Report,” Ismaila emphasized. “There was no consultation with us, the aspirants, regarding the zoning issues. We have not authorized any elder to represent us or canvass on our behalf, nor are we willing to do so in the future. A consensus candidate can only be agreed upon through dialogue and mutual agreement among all 13 aspirants, not by the elders.”
The spokesperson also noted that the leadership of the PDP in Kogi State, under Senator Danjuma La’ah as Chairman and Senator Philip Gyunka as Secretary, had not initiated any process among the 13 aspirants to select a consensus candidate.