A former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, has declared his support for Chief Bode George’s bid to lead the former ruling party, according to a statement on Monday.
Tukur, while playing host to George in his Abuja residence at the weekend, described George as a man of strong principle and the kind needed to right the wrongs in the party and restore it to its former glory.
The statement quoted Tukur as lamenting that the PDP had, over the years, derailed from its good foundation but expressed the hope that with a man like George in the saddle, there was hope for the PDP to resurrect.
George, who reportedly visited Tukur to solicit his support, was also quoted as hailing Tukur for the role he played in the PDP formative years, especially his financial commitment towards the renting of the party’s Wadata House.
Also, the Chairman, PDP Board of Trustee, Senator Walid JIbrin; a former governor of Enugu State, Chief Okwesilieze Nwodo; and a former Deputy National Chairman, PDP, Chief Shuaibu Oyedokun, also separately endorsed George for the party’s leadership position, according to the statement.
George was said to have also visited the trio to solicit their support.
Nwodo, according to the statement, described George as an encyclopedia and an engine room of the PDP, saying it would take a fearless man like him to rebuild the party.
The statement said, “Nwodo also observed that George had been consistently a strong mediator, a father figure who was not given to extreme views.
“He said George remains a consensus builder and affirmed that he will be most pleased if Chief George becomes the chairman.”
While receiving George in his Abuja home, the PDP BoT Chairman, Jibrin, recalled his fond close working relationship with George, saying he found him “as a very capable and resolute person to lead the party.”
On his own part, Oyedokun said, “We need a chairman from the South-West who the opposition cannot easily intimidate or blackmail.