A former Senate President in the aborted Third Republic, Dr Iyorchia Ayu on Thursday emerged the consensus candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party ahead of October 31 national elective convention holding at the Eagles Square in Abuja.

His emergence as the consensus candidate came after hours of marathon meetings by PDP stakeholders of Northern extraction in Abuja in the past 72 hours.

Reacting to the development, a member of the House of Representatives representing Ado/Ogbadibo/Okpokwu federal constituency of Benue State, Dr. Francis Ottah Agbo, has congratulated Ayu on his adoption as the North’s consensus candidate for the position of national chairman of the PDP.

Leadership reported that PDP leaders from the 19 states that make up Northern Nigeria on Thursday had met in the Bauchi Governor’s Lodge in Asokoro, Abuja to ratify the adoption of Dr Ayu as the region’s consensus candidate.

This was shortly after he was presented to the entire North, by the leaders of the party from the North Central zone, following his unanimous adoption on Tuesday at the Benue Governor’s Lodge, Asokoro, as the zone’s candidate.

Appreciating the confidence reposed in him, an elated Ayu promised to run a purposeful party.

This is just as he called on the party leaders to join him to reposition PDP with a view to bouncing back to the Presidential Villa in 2023, stressing that under his leadership, no one can use money to buy his conscience and no single man will own PDP!

“PDP belongs to all, not one man,” he declared.