As the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) met on Sunday night to appoint a replacement for the former chairman, Chief Tony Anenih, who resigned last week, there was fear that if the out going President Goodluck Jonathan accepts the offer of being the next chairman it might present PDP as a regional party.

Also, there is the fear that Jonathan is trying to grab all the structures of the party in his pocket against all other major stakeholders.

This fear is coming against the background that the acting National chairman of the party, Mr. Uche Secondus, is from Rivers State and the National Secretary, Prof Wale Oladipo, is from Osun State.
Both are from the southern part of the country.
The stakeholders are worried that if Jonathan assumes office as the PDP BoT chairman, it would further complicate the regionalisation of the PDP and alienating of the North.

The president who is billed to hand over on Friday to Muhammadu Buhari is from Bayelsa State.
According to a concerned stakeholder, “we opposed former President Olusegun Obasanjo who after handing over became the chairman of PDP. It is not good for President Jonathan to do same, even if he is offered the office of the chairman of the BoT.

“It would not augur well in view of the party that some of the major offices are already concentrated in the south. We have other competent Nigerians that are members of BoT. President Jonathan should resist the temptation of accepting to become the chairman of the BoT. The choice is his either he accepts to become the chairman of the BoT and further diminish the stars of PDP or reject it thereby brightening the stars of the PDP.”

“The immediate past chairman of the PDP BoT offered President Jonathan the chance of becoming the new chairman, which he rejected, it is not known what informed the outgoing president’s rethink of accepting it now,” the source who is a member of the BoT said.

It was gathered that President Jonathan is said to be in dilemma over the offer of accepting to be the chairman of the PDP BoT.

However, after the meeting on Monday, the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT) approved the nomination of the former Acting National Chairman of the party, Dr Haliru Bello Mohammed, as its acting Chairman.
The Deputy Senate President, Chief Ike Ekweremadu, told State House Correspondents at the end of the BoT meeting in Abuja that Mohammed, who was the only nominee for the position, would act in that capacity until when a substantive BOT chairman is elected.