PDP SETTLES FOR MAUZU AS NEW PARTY CHAIRMAN...HOW HE WAS PICKED

A former Governor of Bauchi State, Alhaji Adamu Mu'azu, has been
chosen as the new Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party by
President Goodluck Jonathan and governors.
He will replace the former chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, who
resigned from his position on Wednesday.
Mu'azu was picked as a consensus candidate at a meeting between
President Goodluck Jonathan and the governors of the party at the
Presidential Villa in Abuja on Sunday night.
The meeting ended at 1:22 am on Monday (today) morning.
Investigations showed that the governors had rejected the choice of
Mohammed Wakil by the President and his wife, Patience.
Some reasons were said to have been adduced for the rejection of
Wakil, a former House of Representatives Leader. The reasons
included his alleged inability to carry people along when he was a
principal officer of the House.
A governor said after the meeting that the President was bent on
picking Wakil, who had undergone screening by the security agents for
a ministerial position.
The governor, who asked not to be named, said the President wanted
Wakil at all costs but was vehemently opposed by the governors.
He said the meeting lasted long because it was difficult for the
President to accept defeat.
The governor said, "Yes, we have picked Mu'azu. He will be presented
to the members of the PDP NEC on Monday (today) for ratification."
It was also gathered that the Governor of Bauchi State, Malla. Isa
Yuguda, later agreed with the choice of Mu'azu, after his initial
opposition.
Mu'azu was last week sworn in as the chairman of the National Pensions
Commission by Jonathan.
Mu'azu was born on June 11, 1955 and was governor of Bauchi State
from May 29, 1999 to May 29, 2007.
Before the Villa meeting, the North-East governors, met at the
Bauchi State Governor's Lodge in Abuja.
The PDP chairmanship post was zoned to the North-East.
The Chairman of the PDP Governors' Forum, Godswill Akpabio, and
Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson were said to have attended the
meeting by the North-East governors before the one at the Villa.
Before the two meetings, the President had a private meeting with
Seriake ostensibly over who would emerge as the new chairman of the
PDP.
Before Sunday, a former National Publicity Secretary of the party,
Prof. Rufai Alkali (Gombe State); ex- Acting National Secretary,
Dr. Musa Babayo (Bauchi); and a former Minister of Commerce, Amb.
Idris Waziri (Taraba), were touted as some of the five top
contenders for the job.
An ex- Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mr. Ibrahim Bunu
(Borno) and the current Minister of Transport, Sen. Idris Umar, who
is believed to be the choice of the wife of the President Goodluck
Jonathan, Patience, were also in the race.
During the meeting between Jonathan and the governors, journalists
were asked to leave the venue .
The governors in attendance were Jonah Jang (Plateau), Seidu
Dakingari (Kebbi), Gabriel Suswam (Benue), Theodore Orji (Abia),
Ibrahim Dankwambo (Gombe), Martins Elechi (Ebonyi) and Sullivan
Chime (Enugu).
Others were Ibrahim Shema (Katsina), Ramalan Yero (Kaduna), Emmanuel
Uduaghan (Delta) Idris Wada (Kogi), Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Liyel
Imoke (Cross River), Garba Umar (Taraba), Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa)
and Adamawa State Deputy Governor, Bala Ngilari.
All the governors from the North-East arrived the same time with
Akpabio and Dickson, thus confirming the belief that they were also
at the Bauchi Governor's Lodge..
Vice-President Namadi Sambo and the President of the Senate, David
Mark, also attended the meeting alongside the party's Deputy National
Chairman, Uche Secondus.