Olabode George, the former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has called on the party to move its presidential primaries from Abuja to Lagos.
The PDP had decided on May 28 and 29 for its special congress, to choose its presidential candidate for the 2023 general elections.
Mr George, who made the appeal at the party’s stakeholders meeting in Ikoyi on Monday, said the step became imperative to forestall unnecessary clashes with the ruling APC, which had also fixed its presidential primaries on May 30 and 31 in Abuja.
He said the ruling party and the main opposition party could not hold their presidential primaries in one place for too long.
“Two rams do not drink from the same pot. I want to appeal publicly, move our convention away from Abuja and come to the city of Lagos. Why do we want to use the same location with the other political party?
“The biggest arena in Nigeria today by any yardstick is the Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) in Lagos. I am appealing because the consequences of ignoring the counsel may be dire.
“So, it is an appeal to members of the NWC to look at it, and prevent falling into any trap. Let APC hold theirs in Abuja and we hold ours here in Lagos.
“We must come to where we will showcase the oneness, indivisibility and love that we have among ourselves, and that is the essence of this convention.
“I am begging them to take a cursory and much deeper look and ensure that we do what will not be injurious to the mind of members and the members of the public,” Mr George said.
He said the convention should impact positively on the minds of Nigerians who are not card carrying members, that PDP remained better managers.
According to him, everything needed to host a successful and hitch-free convention, without any encumbrance, is in Lagos.
On zoning and rotation, Mr George said the first paragraph of the memo discussed at a meeting in Abuja recently, provided that zoning and rotation remained “absolutely sacrosanct and cultural-political spinal cord of our party”.
The event was attended by some party leaders in the state.
