Tony Anenih elected PDP B. O. T Chairman

The ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is expected
to announce the selection of Chief Tony Anenih as its
Board of Trustees (BoT) chairman this week. It would
be the second coming of Anenih, who is currently the
chairman of the Board of Directors of the Nigeria Ports
Authority (NPA).
Top party sources told LEADERSHIP Sunday last night
that his imminent emergence as the new BoT chairman
has received the blessings of most of the top members
of the board who were hitherto opposed to his choice.
Before now, Anenih, who is not in good terms with
former President Olusegun Obasanjo, had been locked
in the contest with former national chairman of the party
Ahmadu Ali, former president of the Senate Ken
Nnamani, and Dr. Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, among other
aspirants.
Anenih’s emergence as the new PDP BoT chairman,
barring any last-minute change, will be coming at a
time the party is faced with major challenges, mostly
from within.
Some of the key challenges the expected Anenih
leadership would have to contend with include that of
the seeming feud between the presidency and the
Nigeria Governors’ Forum.
Also, the new leadership would have to address the
various contending forces within the party.
Only last week, some perceived loyalists of former
president Olusegun Obasanjo were sacked from the
National Working Committee of the party.
The South-West congresses believed to be in favour of
the Obasanjo camp were also cancelled. Another major
challenge that is facing the PDP, which the new BoT
chairman has to contain, is the seeming threat posed by
the newly formed All Progressive Congress, APC.
Checks by LEADERSHIP Sunday on the choice of Anenih
as the new BoT chairman revealed that the kingmakers
had, after an extensive consultation among top party
members on the long list of aspirants, settled on Anenih
as he was seen as the most experienced of them all.
A top member of the party also told LEADERSHIP
Sunday that the choice of Anenih was based on the
belief that, with his vast knowledge of the inner
workings of the party, he would be in a better position
to reconcile all contending power blocs within the party
and also effectively check the threat posed by the new
APC.
The PDP BoT meeting that held on January 8 ended in a
stalemate and in the formation of a committee headed
by Professor Jerry Gana. It was mandated to streamline
the membership of the party’s BoT and to report back to
the members in the next meeting.