Nominate Ministers, Board Members, PDP Asks States

Muideen Olaniyi

13 May 2011

The ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has requested its 36 state chapters to nominate persons to become ministers in the new federal cabinet and members of boards in federal parastatals ahead of May 29 presidential inauguration.

The letter written by Dr Bello Haliru Mohammed-led National Working Committee (NWC) asked each state to nominate three persons as potential ministers and seven others for likely appointment into Board of Federal Parastatals.

Daily Trust gathered yesterday that while the national leadership had received the list from Edo State, it rejected the one forwarded from Yobe State because it was sent by former state chairman, Abba Gana Tata, who resigned to be the running mate to the defeated PDP governorship candidate in Yobe State, Usman Albishir.

Abba Gana Tata was said to have rail-roaded himself back into office and singlehandedly drew up the list and forwarded it to PDP National leadership without recourse to other stakeholders in the state.

Tata had been removed from office at a meeting of the State Working Committee held on 9th of May following his earlier resignation of his position as state PDP chairman.

The decision was said to have been forwarded to the Yobe State PDP Executive Committee which also ratified the decision, and wrote the party national leadership to notify it of the decision so taken.

The state Executive Committee in a protest letter to the Acting National Chairman of the Party, Bello Haliru Mohammed, signed by the state Secretary of the party, Adamu Abubakar Waziri, denounced Tata and asked the party national leadership to discountenance any correspondence from Tata on behalf of the state chapter of the PDP.

Yobe State Executive Committee had therefore mandated each of the three Senatorial zones in the state to nominate three persons each to be included on the new list following the rejection of the one forwarded by Tata with the name of its gubernatorial candidate, Senator Albishir, adopted automatically as the tenth nominee.

Daily Trust gathered yesterday that the PDP national leadership will, after gathering all the lists from states, forward it to General Theophilus Danjuma-led Presidential Advisory Committee (PAC).

President Goodluck Jonathan however reserves the right to pick any of the three names submitted for ministerial appointment.

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