The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has picked dates to hold the suspended zonal congresses in the South West, North West and North Central.
You will recall that the congress had initially been postponed due to disagreements between stakeholders loyal to Seyi Makinde, governor of Oyo State and Ayo Fayose, immediate past governor of Ekiti State.
While Makinde is sponsoring Taofeek Arapaja, a former Oyo deputy governor, Fayose is supporting Eddy Olafeso, a former governorship aspirant in Ondo State.
A letter signed by the duo of National Chairman, Uche Secondus and Secretary, Sen Umar Tsauri, which was addressed to the Chairman, Independent Natonal Electoral Commission, INEC, and dated March 31, 2021 indicated that the zonal congresses will hold on April 10.
While that of the South West will hold in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, the North West will hold in Kaduna while that of the North Central will hold in Makurdi, Benue state.
The letter from the PDP headquarters reads: “Please refer to our earlier letter with ref No.PDP/DOM/GF.2/VOL.IM/21-015, in which we informed the Commission(INEC) of the postponement of our planned zonal congresses in North West, South West and North Central.
“We now wish to inform the commission of new dates for the North West, south west and North central zones.”
The letter gave the location and dates for the congresses to include Ibadan for South west, Kaduna for North West and Makurdi for North Central.
It further reads: “Please note that all our party’s activities shall be in accordance with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) guidelines on COVID-19 as they concern social/physical distancing if people gathering in one place.”