Adeniran Can Lead PDP to Victory, Says Governor Ugwuanyi

In what looked like a tacit endorsement of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national chairmanship ambition of former Minister of Education, Professor Tunde Adeniran, the Governor of Enugu State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, has said the former minister has all it takes to return the party to power.

He assured party faithful of his confidence in the leadership qualities of Adeniran, saying: “With his track record of party loyalty and antecedents, winning the 2019 presidential poll will not be a herculean task for the PDP.”

In a statement issued on Wednesday by the Director, Media and Publicity of Tunde Adeniran Campaign Organisation (TACO), Taiwo Akeju, the state governor described Adeniran as a man that is known for his objectivity, discipline and compliance to rules and regulations.

"I have absolute confidence and assurance that the PDP will do well under him," he said.

Speaking during the visit, Adeniran assured party leaders and faithful that if elected as the next chairman of the party in December, he would end impunity, imposition and lack of internal democracy.

Adeniran said he is in the chairmanship race as part of efforts by the party leaders to restore the confidence of party members and Nigerians generally in the PDP.

According to him, “As a founding member of our great party, I know the ideals and philosophy of the founding fathers. I know the vision and mission of our party because I was there at the beginning.

"Our party is truly the only national party that is formed with the purpose of promoting the unity and progress of Nigeria. Since the formation of the party in 1998, you will agree with me that our country has made tremendous contributions to the development of Nigeria, the only challenge we are faced with is the issue of impunity and imposition of candidates at various levels.

"This was responsible for our defeat in the 2015 polls.  I want to assure you this will never happen under my leadership.”

A former Minister of Information who accompanied the delegation, Prof. Jerry Gana, described Adeniran as good brand.

"For democracy to earn the respect of any leadership, we need a brand that has strong equity, credibility and also resonate with all segments of the political space.  As a result of this, Adeniran is the candidate to beat not only because of his antecedents and pedigree but also because of his loyalty and unflinching support to the party at all time,” Gana said. 

In the team also were former Deputy Senate President, Ibrahim Mantu; Alhaji Shehu Gabam, Dr Yemi Farombi, Senator Ugochukwu Uba, Hajia Zainab Maina among others.