2023: Old Ondo ex-Governor indicates interest, as PDP begins search for Presidential material
It is no longer rumour that serious search for presentable and generally acceptable candidate of the Nigeria’s leading opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has begun.
What many are not clear about is who-is-who on the choice list until the first man to publicly indicate interest happened to be a former Military Governor of Old Ondo State, Navy Commodore Olabode Ibiyinka George.
Also former Deputy National Chairman of the PDP, George has reportedly begun moves to run in the 2023 presidential race.
The DEFENDER was yet to get through to the phone of the former strong man of the Nigerian Navy and proud son of Isale Gangan on the Island of Lagos, for his direct confirmation of interest in the race that is still some three years away as calls returned unsuccessful.
Sources close to him however told BusinessDay, according to Royal News report, that George joined the race after meetings held, recently, with some political leaders in Lagos, London in United Kingdom (UK) and Berlin in Germany.
George, who was the Director General of the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua Campaign Organisation in 2006/2007, is said to be in London presently strategizing and meeting some prominent Nigerians on how to actualise the ambition as it is clear that Nigeria looks forward to the South for successor of President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Buhari won a re-election in the February 28, 2019 Presidential election that became the most volatile in the electioneering history of Nigeria defeating the PDP candidacy of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who became second, by a very wide margin of over two million votes.
Although he is still a member of PDP, it is still not clear on which political platform George, the Atona Odua of Yorubaland, will launch his campaign.
One of the sources further revealed that the experienced administrator, orator and excellent politician, will unveil his presidential plans in the middle of 2020, while committees have been set up for mobilisation for the real work to kick-off in 2021.
