Crisis is currently brewing between the National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Lagos State chapter of the party over who succeeds Moshood Salvador, the immediate past chairman of the party, who defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) last week.

According to Daily Independent, following Salvador’s exit, the stakeholders in Lagos PDP unanimously decided that the position should be retained by Lagos West Senatorial District where the former state chairman hails from.

Members of the party later settled for Dr. Adegbola Dominic, a medical practitioner, who was a governorship aspirant of the party in the 2015 election.

Dominic, a former National Chairman of the Action Party of Nigeria (APN), also contested the state chairmanship election with Salvador where he came second.

According to Daily Independent, the choice of Dominic as Salvador’s replacement was arrived at, following a consensus of opinions among the party leaders in the state, especially its apex leader, Chief Olabode George, a former Deputy National Chairman of the PDP.

When contacted, Dominic confirmed the new development in the party, saying leaders met to agree on his choice following the move by Salvador to leave the PDP for the APC.

He also confirmed that he was in Abuja to deliver the letter containing the decision of the party leaders led by Chief George to appoint him as replacement for Salvador.

However, to the shock of PDP supporters in Lagos, the national leadership of the party, in a letter dated Wednesday, August 29, announced the choice of Alhaji Waliu Ibrahim as the Acting State Chairman of the party.

Ibrahim was deputy to Salvador and, according to the letter signed by Sen. Umaru Ibrahim Tsauri, the National Secretary is to serve as the acting chairman for 90 days.

While the PDP NWC claimed that it followed the directives in the party’s constitution, members of the party in Lagos are said to have rejected what they called the imposition of Ibrahim.

The Lagos chapter said it was wrong for the party to determine for them who presided over their affair without carrying them along.

According to a member of the state exco, the ploy to reject Dominic, the choice of the majority of the party members was a deliberate attempt by Prince Uche Secondus, the PDP National Chairman, to take control of the structure of the party from Bode George and hand it over to Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State.

Our source said, having cheated Bode George out of the national chairmanship race, it would be unfair for Governor Wike to attempt taking the structure of the party in Lagos away from him.

When contacted, Kola Ologbondiyan, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, confirmed the development, saying the NWC had approved the choice of Ibrahim, Salvador’s deputy, to serve in acting capacity for 90 days in line with the party’s constitution.

“In the case of Lagos PDP, the Deputy State Chairman has become the Acting State Chairman. On the appointment of Dr. Adegbola Dominic by the Lagos PDP stakeholders, as you said, if he is the deputy to Salvador, then automatically he is the Acting State Chairman.

•Excerpted from a Daily Independent report

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