A senior adviser to the former governor of Kwara State, Akintoba Fatigun, has disclosed that Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, the President of the Eighth Senate, has no interest in taking on the role of National Chairman of the People Democratic Party (PDP).

One of the top contenders from the nation’s North-Central region, Saraki is expected to be the PDP’s national chairman in 2023, taking over for Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, who was removed from office by a court ruling in 2023. Ayu is from the same North-Central state as Saraki—Benue State.

However, Saraki’s political advisor Fatigun stated in a conversation with newsmen on Friday that his principal was not considering running for PDP national chairman and called Saraki’s decision a “cast in rock.”

The former Senate President, he continued, has since informed the largest opposition party’s North-Central leadership of his decision to “no show.”

According to LEADERSHIP, the North-Central zone has requested that Amb. Iliya Damagum give up the position of interim national chairman in order to facilitate the election of a permanent national chairman from the area to which the party initially assigned the role in 2021.

In order to review and approve the procedures for selecting the party’s next national chairman, the PDP scheduled its fundamental National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting for April 18, 2024.