Tony Anenih elected Chairman, PDP Board of Trustees

President Goodluck Jonathan’s intensive maneuvering to take full control of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party yielded a huge dividend Monday night as the president’s anointed candidate, Tony Anenih, was “elected” chairman of the party’s Board of Trustees.

At the end of a late night meeting at the presidential villa, which stretched into the early hours of Tuesday, party leaders presented Mr. Anenih, a former Minister of Works, to journalists as having emerged BOT chair by consensus.

The Secretary of the BOT, Wali Jibril, broke the news of Mr. Anenih’s election to journalists as President Jonathan and other top party chiefs walk away from the venue of the meeting.

“BOT met today and approved the report of Prof. Jerry Gana on streamlining the membership of the BOT,” he said. “Our new chairman of the BOT by the grace of God is Chief Tony Anenih.”

An elated Mr. Anenih spoke afterwards, saying, “I was elected today by consensus as the chairman of the BOT. I know I can make meaningful contributions to the progress of the party. As you know, the BOT is the conscience of the party. It’s a body of men and women who have seen it all and I am happy to be the chairman of that board.”

The election of the BOT chair was postponed a number of times after other challengers, including ex-Vice President Alex Ekwueme, former party chair Ahmadu Ali and former President of the Senate, Ken Nnamani, failed to step down for Mr. Anenih, who is Mr. Jonathan’s preferred candidate.

Mr. Anenih, who will be 80 in August, was a former chairman of the BOT until 2007 when he was unceremoniously deposed after he fell out with Mr. Obasanjo who proceeded to mastermind an amendment to the party’s constitution reserving the BOT position for ex-presidents produced by the party.


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