He will replace the former chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, who resigned from his position on Wednesday.
Mu’azu was picked as a consensus candidate at a meeting between President Goodluck Jonathan and the governors of the party at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Sunday night.
The meeting ended at 1:22 am on Monday (today) morning.
Investigations showed that the governors had rejected the choice of Mohammed Wakil by the President and his wife, Patience.
Some reasons were said to have been adduced for the rejection of Wakil, a former House of Representatives Leader. The reasons included his alleged inability to carry people along when he was a principal officer of the House.
A governor told one of our correspondents after the meeting that the President was bent on picking Wakil, who had undergone screening by the security agents for a ministerial position.
The governor, who asked not to be named, said the President wanted Wakil at all costs but was vehemently opposed by the governors.
He said the meeting lasted long because it was difficult for the President to accept defeat.
The governor said, “Yes, we have picked Mu’azu. He will be presented to the members of the PDP NEC on Monday(today) for ratification.”
It was also gathered that the Governor of Bauchi State, Malla, Isa Yuguda, later agreed with the choice of Mu’azu, after his initial opposition.
Before the two meetings, the President had a private meeting with Seriake ostensibly over who would emerge as the new chairman of the PDP.
Before Sunday, a former National Publicity Secretary of the party, Prof. Rufai Alkali (Gombe State); ex-acting National Secretary, Dr. Musa Babayo (Bauchi); and a former Minister of Commerce, Amb. Idris Waziri (Taraba), were touted as some of the five top contenders for the job.
The ex-minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mr. Ibrahim Bunu (Borno) and the current Minister of Transport, Sen. Idris Umar, who is believed to be the choice of the wife of the President Goodluck Jonathan, Patience, were also in the race.
During the meeting between Jonathan and the governors, journalists were asked to leave the venue.
Mr. Mu’azu, 58, was among candidates who contested for the PDP chairmanship position in March 2012.
In a zonal congress election conducted by the North-East PDP in Bauchi to choose a consensus candidate for the zone at the time, Mr. Mu’azu got only one vote to place last.
Mr. Babayo got 14 votes to defeat other contenders. Mr. Tukur, who was clearly the president’s anointed candidate for the position at the time, got four votes.
Former Ministers Bunu and Shettima Mustapha scored 2 votes each while Mr. Alkali , just like Mr. Muazu, scored only one vote.
Mr. Mu’azu and corruption
In November 2013, President Jonathan appointed the former Bauchi governor chairman of the Nigerian Pension Commission, PENCOM.
He was appointed to the position even though he is still being investigated for graft by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for allegedly looting N19.8billion belonging to his state while he was governor between 1999 and 2007.
The former governor has consistently denied any wrongdoing but he is yet to be cleared of the allegation.
The civic group, Transition Monitoring Group, protested the appointment at the time, saying it was morally wrong for the president to appoint a man being tried for corruption to such a high office.
Mr. Jonathan and the National Assembly disregarded that position and proceeded to clear the former governor for the position.
The TMG statement at the time reads in part, “The Transition Monitoring Group, TMG, is astonished and peeved by this move of the President, especially in the light of the fact that the former Governor is yet to be cleared by the Economics and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, of the corruption charges he is facing for allegedly defrauding the coffers of Bauchi State to the tune of N19.8billion when he was Governor of the State,” the group said in a statement on Monday.
“This and other similar acts of Mr. President, particularly his penchant for surrounding himself with famed corrupt individuals, makes his government’s so-called anti-corruption efforts a laughing stock, for it is patently obvious from his antecedents that President Jonathan endorses corruption.
“The EFCC is investigating Mr. Mu’azu for allegedly stealing billions of naira belonging to Bauchi State during his term as governor between 1999 and 2007.Other names forwarded to the Senate for confirmation as Commissioners of PENCOM include Chinelo Anohu-Amazu (South East), Reuben Omotowa (North Central), Mohammed Ka’oje (North West), and Adesojo Olaoba-Efuntayo (South West).But the group said that appointing Mr. Mu’azu to head the commission is in line with his practice of shielding corrupt individuals.
“TMG recalls that in the heat of the corruption charges against the same Mu’azu Adamu, President Jonathan appointed him in 2011 as Chairman of the Board of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA),” said the statement signed by Ibrahim Zikirullahi and Eddy Ezurike, the group’s Chairman and Publicity Secretary respectively.
“It was with the President’s nod that Business Mogul, Mike Adenuga and his wife, Titi Adenuga in late 2010 walked free from the EFCC charges they were facing for reportedly collecting bribes from Siemens officials; and it was this same attitude of Presidential Romance with alleged corrupt individuals that enabled controversial Lawyer, Dele Oye to walk scot free from EFCC charges of allegedly acting as front for the defunct Oceanic Bank CEO, Cecilia Ibru; and aiding her to loot tens of billions of Naira in Bank assets.
“The Nigerian people of course will not forget in a hurry how this same President granted presidential pardon to a notorious convicted corrupt former Governor and his kinsman, DSP Alamieyeseigha, and other criminals, including a paedophile.
“Those who recently looted the Police Pensions Board, including its former Director are yet to be brought to book. The list is endless; yet Jonathan’s regime talks about fight against corruption. The attitude of Mr. President in recycling corrupt individuals in public places is worrisome and does not inspire confidence at all.
“In fact, on issue after issue, he has shown that he will never combat corruption but will rather aid, abet and shield corrupt officials.
“The group called on President Jonathan to withdraw, immediately, Mr. Mu’azu’s nomination and take “creative steps” to rebuild confidence and imbue confidence in the anti-corruption war.
“This is the only pathway to redemption, prosperity and development in this country.”
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