The
People’s 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 Organization.
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.
Source: saharareporters.com
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