The ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is expected to announce the selection of Chief Tony Anenih as its Board of Trustees (BoT) chairman this week. It would be the second coming of Anenih, who is currently the chairman of the Board of Directors of the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA).
Top party sources told LEADERSHIP Sunday last night that his imminent emergence as the new BoT chairman has received the blessings of most of the top members of the board who were hitherto opposed to his choice.
Before now, Anenih, who is not in good terms with former President Olusegun Obasanjo, had been locked in the contest with former national chairman of the party Ahmadu Ali, former president of the Senate Ken Nnamani, and Dr. Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, among other aspirants.
Anenih’s emergence as the new PDP BoT chairman, barring any last-minute change, will be coming at a time the party is faced with major challenges, mostly from within.
Some of the key challenges the expected Anenih leadership would have to contend with include that of the seeming feud between the presidency and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum.
Also, the new leadership would have to address the various contending forces within the party.
Only last week, some perceived loyalists of former president Olusegun Obasanjo were sacked from the National Working Committee of the party.
The South-West congresses believed to be in favour of the Obasanjo camp were also cancelled. Another major challenge that is facing the PDP, which the new BoT chairman has to contain, is the seeming threat posed by the newly formed All Progressive Congress, APC.
Checks by LEADERSHIP Sunday on the choice of Anenih as the new BoT chairman revealed that the kingmakers had, after an extensive consultation among top party members on the long list of aspirants, settled on Anenih as he was seen as the most experienced of them all.
A top member of the party also told LEADERSHIP Sunday that the choice of Anenih was based on the belief that, with his vast knowledge of the inner workings of the party, he would be in a better position to reconcile all contending power blocs within the party and also effectively check the threat posed by the new APC.
The PDP BoT meeting that held on January 8 ended in a stalemate and in the formation of a committee headed by Professor Jerry Gana. It was mandated to streamline the membership of the party’s BoT and to report back to the members in the next meeting.
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Source: Leadership
