From Scholastica Hir, Makurdi

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Benue State has suspended its state chairman, Sir John Ngbede, and two other members of the State Working Committee from office for a period of one month.

Also affected are the secretary, Joseph Nyam, and organising secretary, Moses Audu.

A statement by the state PDP Publicity Secretary, Chief Bemgba Iortyom, in Makurdi yesterday, said their suspension takes immediate effect.

Iortyom explained that the officials were suspended at an extraordinary meeting of the State Working Committee of the party on Saturday, August 3, 2024, at which nine out of the 13 members were present and assented to the decision.

The suspended members were accused of forging and impersonating the State Working Committee to achieve their individual aims, instigating violence and crisis during the just concluded ward congresses of the party, and mismanagement of the finances of the party, among other things.

The statement said: “They have been directed to appear before the disciplinary committee of the party to answer to the charges brought against them within the period of their suspension.”

It also said the state deputy chairman, Isaac Mffo, is now the state chairman of the PDP in acting capacity.

In another letter dated August 2024, the Benue PDP has conveyed its message of vote of no confidence and suspension of the state chairman, state secretary and state organising secretary of the party in the state to the national chairman of the party.

It read: “We, the undersigned, being serving members of the State Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Benue State, rising from an extraordinary meeting on Saturday, August 3, 2024, in line with Section 21(4) of the Constitution of the Peoples Democratic Party as amended in 2017 at which we constituted the lawfully required 2/3 membership strength (nine members out of 13 members) as required in Section 21(5) of the Constitution of the Peoples Democratic Party as amended in 2017, do hereby convey to your good offices our decision to pass a vote of no confidence on and suspend from office the state chairman of the party, Sir John Ngbede, the state secretary, Dr. Joseph Nyam, and the state organising secretary, Hon. Moses Audu.

“This difficult decision derived from a plethora of facts which we abridge for your attention herein.

“That, on July 31, 2024, the duo of state chairman, Sir John Ngbede, and state secretary, Dr. Joseph Nyam, did collude and issued a petition to the office of the national organising secretary of the party, purporting same to be on behalf of and with the consent of the entire State Working Committee of the party in the state, which was a report of the conduct of the recent ward congresses of the party in the state.

“We state in no uncertain terms that the said petition was a forgery, as there was no time or occasion whatsoever where the State Working Committee met and took a position regarding the conduct of the ward congresses. We equally state that the ward congresses were successfully conducted in the 276 wards of the state.”

When contacted, the chairman, Sir John Ngbede, said he was not aware of his suspension, asking which PDP Iortyom was speaking for.

“I don’t know about that. We didn’t have any meeting and there was no State Working Committee meeting, so where will they get that authority to suspend the chairman.”

He said: “Most of them claiming to suspend people have resigned their positions to contest for various positions in the coming congresses, so how can people who have resigned their positions come to hold a meeting to suspend the chairman.”