Iyorchia Ayu, former senate president, has been adopted as the consensus candidate for the national chairmanship position of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Ahmadu Fintiri, governor of Adamawa state, made the announcement after a stakeholder meeting on Thursday.
The development comes seven days after the national executive committee (NEC) of the party approved the zoning of the national chairmanship position to the north.
The Adamawa governor said Ayu was unanimously chosen among the three candidates vying for the position. “There is no vanquished, there is no victor in this meeting, we all came out united,” he said.
“Out of the three northern candidates that all the three zones produced, the candidates themselves, in the spirit of unity and togetherness, in the spirit of ensuring that PDP emerges and benefits from our efforts so that we can win the 2023 general election, distinguished senator Iyorchia Ayu has emerged as a consensus candidate of the north.
“With this, we are fully prepared, we are ready. We will be talking with our colleagues from other parts of the country, especially the south, that they see reasons for this consensus candidate and give us support during the convention of PDP.
“All of them were immensely qualified but through discussion and reconciliation, we have emerged with a consensus list that was endorsed by the candidates themselves. There was no election and there was no selection.”
Commenting, Ayu said he will work with party stakeholders to enable the PDP defeat the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 presidential election.
“The PDP will be back with its winning ways. We will work tirelessly after the convention to rebuild the party to take over power to rebuild the country,” he said.
“I believe all Nigerians missed the PDP government. Our 16 years moved the country forward. We intend to work together with all the leaders, not only in the north, but across the country to reposition this country to the next generation of Nigerians.
“It will be an all-inclusive administration of the party. We will work collectively, we will introduce policies that will be acceptable to Nigerians.”
The PDP chairmanship election is scheduled for October 30 and 31.