PDP crisis: Turaki-led NWC appeals judgment voiding Ibadan

• Says peace talks in progress

From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja

The Tanimu Turaki-led National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has filed an appeal at the Supreme Court against the judgment of the Court of Appeal, which nullified the opposition party’s national convention which was held in Ibadan last year.

The National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, disclosed this while briefing journalists, after a meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC), yesterday, in Abuja.

Ememobong stated that NEC ratified all the decisions so far taken by the various party organs, in the aftermath of the Court of Appeal judgment, which nullified the convention, where the Turaki-led exco was elected.

He, however, explained that the peace moves with the National Caretaker Committee, which enjoys the backing of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, is still in progress.

The various organs of the PDP became polarised in the aftermath of the Ibadan convention. Immediately after the Ibadan convention, loyalists of the FCT Minister set up a 13-man caretaker committee headed by Abdulraham Mohammed to pilot the affairs of the opposition party pending the conduct of a fresh convention.

But in another twist, the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, on March 9 nullified the convention and upheld the judgement of the Federal High Court Abuja, which had directed the opposition party not to go ahead with the exercise.

Also, the Court of Appeal, Ibadan, while adjudicating in an appeal against the judgment of the Federal High Court, Ibadan, which recognised the caretaker committee, admonished the parties to the suit to explore a settlement.

The chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT), Adolphus Wabara, after an expanded meeting of the board, said party leaders were disposed to seek an out-of-court resolution of the leadership crisis. However, the peace talks did not gain traction for over two weeks, while the caretaker committee stepped up its plans to hold a national convention where it hoped to elect a new NWC on March 29 and 30.

Regardless, Turaki, at a press briefing on Wednesday, confirmed that the two blocs had resumed peace talks, promising that his side was prepared to make sacrifices for the overall interest of the PDP.

The PDP spokesman, while responding to a question on the progress so far made in the reconciliation, stated that “we do know that reconciliation is a journey towards a destination and so you measure it by movement. So, movement is being done along that line, the destination of reconciliation will be met and you can bear with me that we have a situation of negative peace at the moment, at least a cessation of hostility. At the March 29 and 30 National Convention, being organised by the Caretaker Committee, Ememobong said “there is no convention coming up to our knowledge. But we will not begin to deconstruct that because that would be an inconvenient truth. And we cannot be saying those inconvenient truths at these points in public.”