Preparatory to the national convention that will usher in a new set of executive in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), BANJI ALUKO examines the prominent candidates that are jostling for the position of national secretary of the party.

After President Goodluck Jonathan from the South South emerged winner of the April 19 presidential election, the position of speaker of the House of Representatives had been zoned to the South-West. But when Aminu Bello Tambuwal, against the zoning pattern of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), emerged speaker on June 6 2011, the need to placate and pacify the South West became the talking point in the ruling PDP. At first it was rumoured that the position of the chairman of the PDP was zoned to the zone but talk about that would later be diffused as the party came out to state that the position had been given to the North West, a zone that had equally lost the position of the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives to the South East.

No sooner had the zone offered the position that notable politicians from the six states of the axis started to show interest in the office. One factor many of them believed would decide who emerges the occupant of the office was the influence of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who is the Board of Trustees (BoT) chairman of the PDP. They believed that any candidate that is anointed by him would occupy the position. As a result, the aspirants started to link their aspirations with the retired General.

Presently, no fewer than 40 candidates have signified interest in contesting for the office. They include former Transport Minister, Chief Ebenezer Babatope; incumbent National Legal Adviser of the party, Chief Olusola Oke; former Minister of Integration in Africa, Chief Dapo Sarumi; former Minister of Education, Professor Tunde Adeniran; and veteran Lagos State governorship aspirant, Barrister Owolabi Salis.

Others include the immediate past Minister of Sports, Professor Taoheed Adedoja; former Ekiti State PDP Chairman, Chief Bola Olu-Ojo; former Secretary to the Ekiti State Government, Ambassador Dare Bejide; Dr. Saka Balogun; and Dr. Nureni Adeniran. Balogun and Adeniran both served in the administration of former Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala of Oyo State as Chief of Staff and Commissioner for Education, respectively.

Although there are no clearly-stated criteria for the position of the party’s national secretary, it appears that it might be forced to set out criteria so as to streamline the number of contestants.

Chief Akintayo Akin-Deko
A UK-trained development consultant, a lifelong nationalist since joining the defunct NPN in 1978 and a founding member of PDP, Chief Akintayo Akin-Deko has been repeatedly described by supporters as the ultimate consensus candidate for the post of PDP National Secretary.

Chief Akintayo Akin-Deko, who is from Idanre, Ondo State, prides himself as the convener of the PDP Regeneration Group, an ad hoc group of PDP leaders from different states in the South West dedicated to renewing the lost glory of PDP in the South West zone and keeping the Yoruba in the national politics. The group has long been consulting widely with PDP leaders in the South West  such as Chief Richard Akinjide and Chief Ayo Ogunlade on the way forward for the PDP in Yorubaland and networking with other like-minded groups in the South West.

Using a network of family, friends and political associates as well as the support of his late father’s friends, Chief Akin-Deko has taken his campaign to the Presidency, governors and members of the National Assembly as well as the powerful caucuses and individuals in the PDP. The general impression is that what Chief Akin-Deko might lack in experience in office, he more than makes up in eloquence, intelligence, passion for the PDP and a deep knowledge of the nationalist culture having been a nationalist politician since he joined the NPN in 1978. He sees himself as the perfect consensus candidate to bring all factions, states and regions together under the umbrella party.

Professor Taoheed Adedoja
He is another outstanding contestant for the post from the state. Adedoja is a two-time provost of the Federal College of Education (Special),Oyo and hails from Ibadan. He was the chairman of the Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB). He was the governorship candidate of the Action Congress (AC) in Oyo State in 2007. He later returned to the PDP and was appointed Commissioner for Education during the administration of Alao-Akala. He was nominated first as the Minister of Special Duties and later moved to the National Sports Commission.

Professor Adedoja is a great achiever when saddled with a responsibility to serve his country in different capacities, but his critics say he is not a grassroots politician. He is well-read and has national experience.

Chief Ebenezer Babatope
Babatope, who hails from Ilesa, Osun State, is one of the earliest candidate who signified interest to contest for the office. Babatope came to national prominence as the Director of Organisation of the defunct Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) in the Second Republic. He was a member of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP) the United Nigeria Congress of Nigeria (UNCP) and joined the PDP as a foundation member in 1999.

He is presently a member of the Board of Trustees (BoT) and the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the PDP. What may work for him is his wealth of experience having been an active politician for at about four decades. As a member of BoT and NEC, he will easily sell and market himself to his colleagues who will then reach out to others. He has friends in the party across the six geo-political zones and he is loved by both young and old.

Babatope is not new to the workings, intrigues and problems of the party and he is always there for the party; he had at various times served on the party’s committees, especially that of reconciliation where aggrieved members were reconciled. He is presently the chairman of the Inter-Party Relations Committee, a sub Committee of the PDP Presidential Committee Council.

Chief Dapo Sarumi
Another personality from the South West that has indicated interest for the position of National Secretary of the PDP is Chief Dapo Sarumi.

Sarumi was a member of the Shehu Yar’Adua political group, Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) which former vice president Atiku Abubakar later inherited as the leader. He was a founding member and financier of PDP in Lagos State and lost the contest for the governor of the state to former Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 1999 before former President Olusegun Obasanjo appointed him Minister of Information.

Sarumi is a strong politician and has been around for a very long time. But a disadvantage for him is the fact that he has not been operating from the national platform of the party since his exit from the Olusegun Obasanjo cabinet. He may need to work very hard to reach out to other members of the party across the country especially against the backdrop that he recently returned to the PDP.

Chief Bola Olu-Ojo
Another candidate for the position of National Secretary is Chief Bola Olu-Ojo, who until recently was the chairman of the PDP in Ekiti State. Though he is young and articulate, he however, does not have the kind of rich political pedigree shared by Babatope and Sarumi.

What may work against him is the comatose state he left the PDP in Ekiti State. The party is yet to recover from the crisis which polarized it in the wake of the submission of ministerial nominees when Navy Captain Caleb Olubolade, (rtd) emerged the candidate of the party.

The crisis had brewed following the dismal performance of the party in the last elections when some leaders of the party challenged the national secretariat of the party to dissolve the state executive led by Olu-Ojo.

Professor Tunde Adeniran

He is rated as another major contender for the position because of his pedigree. A sound academic, whose sojourn into partisan politics dates back to the military era, the Ekiti State-born former minister is believed to be among the leaders that formed PDP and erected its pillars. He remained with the party through thick and thin. Also, he has had to
handle a number of national assignments for either the party or government at different times within and outside the country.

Described as a bridge-builder, Adeniran has remained a constant star troubleshooting where and when necessary in the last couple of years by mending the proverbial (PDP) umbrella where it appeared broken, especially in the South-West. Though his strength of character and organisational skills are never in doubt, some observers claim his main weakness could be the lack of generally acceptable appeal. He is categorised among the cerebral politicians in the PDP family.