Chairman, national reconciliation and strategy committee of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Senator Bukola Saraki has assured the readiness of former governors elected on the platform of the party to bring in new faces as part of its rebuilding process in preparation for the 2023 general election.
Saraki who stated this after hours of a meeting of the committee with the former governors, Wednesday, also ruled out any possibility of the latter leaving the PDP for another party.
Briefing newsmen at the party’s secretariat, Saraki said having earlier met with former President, Goodluck Jonathan; it was only apt for the committee to interface with the former governors and hear their grievances against the party.
“We have gotten their assurances that they are not going anywhere; instead they are going to bring in more people. Yesterday (Tuesday), we met with our former President. Today (Wednesday), we are consulting with our former governors who are our key stakeholders.
“We had a very useful and productive meeting. They (ex-governors) have all shown their commitment towards the party and their readiness to go and strengthen our party in their states and the national level to ensure that the PDP is well prepared for the 2023 election.
“I want to see them more active because their silence sometimes might be misinterpreted, but they’ve promised me and the committee that they will be more active workers of the party. You will hear more of their voices now that they have spoken up,” he said.
In attendance were former Anambra state governor, Peter Obi, immediate past Kwara state governor, Abdulfatai Ahmed; erstwhile Sokoto state governor, Attahiru Bafarawa and immediate past Ekiti state governor, Ayodele Fayose.
Others included Ibrahim Shema, Boni Haruna, Ahmed Makarfi, Gabriel Suswam, Sam Egwu,
Emmanuel Uduaghan, Ramalan Yero, Babangida Aliyu, Ibrahim Idris, Wada Idris, and Liyel Imoke, former governors of Katsina, Adamawa, Kaduna, Benue, Ebonyi, Delta, Kaduna, Niger, Login and Cross River states respectively.