The elders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the South-West have callled for the repositioning of the party's National Working Committee (NWC).

This came barely one week when the forum of chairmen of party in the zone reaffirmed their support for President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 presidential election.

The repositioning of the NWC, according to the communique issued at the end of the meeting by the South-West Zonal PDP Leaders and Elders held at the Idi-Ishin residence of Richard Akinjide, SAN in Ibadan on Saturday, was for greater effectiveness and impressive performance in order to ensure victories for the party in the South-West and indeed throughout the country in the coming elections.

In the communique read by former Minister of Education, Tunde Adeniran, the group also urged Mr. President to run for a second term in 2015, saying, “we are hundred percent behind him as demonstrated in 2010 when the South-West PDP was the first zone to endorse him as our presidential candidate”. 

Still on the NWC, the zonal party elders maintained that it was imperative to review the present membership of the NWC “with a view to ensuring that all posts are filled in line with our party's constitution and to ensure due process and due diligence”.

It was also the decision of the group that there should be an urgent need to facilitate the immediate appointment and inauguration of a Caretaker Committee for the South-West PDP to fill the vacuum which presently exists in the zone until a proper zonal congress is held.

Commending President Jonathan for what it described as mature and courageous piloting of the ship of the Nigerian State, especially in the area of handling the security challenges in the North-East Region, the group called for the constitution of a strong South-West committee to anchor the forthcoming gubernatorial elections in Ekiti and Osun States.

It was also resolved at the meeting “to congratulate the President on the painstaking and sincere manner in which he resolved the ASUU strike and ensured the return of our chiidren back to their. Universities as well as forestalling the

Nigerian Medical Association  (NMA) strike and likely crisis in the health sector”.

In his opening remark, Akinjide, who lamented the backwardness of Yoruba in the nation appealed to all feuding parties to sheathe their swords for peace to reign in the party and in the country.

"In Nigerian politics, Yoruba is a zone to reckon with. Why are we taking arms against one another? What exactly is happening to us? If we call ourselves leaders,should we then be found in a demeaning position?

"We all heard what the former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo said. If you read the newspapers today,(yesterday), he made some important comments. In essence, he is in support of the meeting we are doing here. If anybody says don't come to this meeting, disregard him.

“Don't trust those people. One of them is a drug addict, I mean the criminal elements who want to lead us. We won't allow them" as he explained why some of the other factions were not present noting that, invitations will be extended to others

in subsequent meetings," he said.