From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
There is confusion over whether or not the The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting scheduled for today would still hold continue yesterday.
The Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, who stated that the National Caucus would reconvene by 10 am refused to respond to questions on whether the party would continue with NEC.
“As you can see, we just adjourned our meeting for today to tomorrow, 10 o’clock. This meeting is going to continue. We’ve just set up a small committee that will give us a report.
“I will address you properly by the time we conclude our meeting tomorrow,” the PDP chairman stated and walked away.”
Daily Sun gathered that during the National Caucus meeting, leaders of the party could not reach a consensus on whether or not the party should proceed with the NEC meeting as earlier scheduled.
An inside source said some leaders, during the meeting canvassed that the NEC should be postponed for some days to allow the party resolve some knotty issues, while others were in support of the PDP going ahead with the meeting.
Consequently, a committee was raised to meet this night and report back to the national caucus today, when it reconvenes by 10 am, in Abuja.
The PDP Governors Forum, had in a communique, after a meeting in Ibadan, on April 14, proposed that a meeting of the opposition party’s NEC, should be held today.
The governors also proposed that the PDP National Convention to elect a new National Working Committee (NWC) should hold on August 28- August 30 , in Kano, while Adamawa State governor, Ahmadu Fintiri and his Bayelsa State counterpart, Diri Douye should chair the Convention and Zoning committees respectively.
Also, the PDP governors while reiterating their support for the ouster of Senator Samuel Anyanwu as national secretary, stated that in view Supreme Court judgment on the disputed national secretary position, the deputy national secretary, Setonji Koshedo should assume office as acting national secretary, pending the nomination and ratification of a substantive national secretary from the South East.
The South East chapter of the PDP had , 2023, nominated former national youth leader of the party, Sunday Ude-Okoye as replacement for Anyanwu, after the latter emerged as the candidate in the last Imo State governorship election.
Regardless, a move to replace the Imo-born former senator was trailed by litigation. First, an Enugu State High Court affirming Ude-Okoye’s nomination and mandating PDP NWC to swear him in as national secretary.
Last December , the Court of Appeal, Enugu Division, in a majority judgment affirmed the verdict of the lower Court. Nonetheless, the minority judgment stated that the court had no jurisdiction over the issue
The Supreme Court, in its verdict on a Appeal filed by Anyanwu, nullified the majority judgment of the Court of Appeal, and upheld the minority judgment, which stated that the lower court had no jurisdiction over the issue, as it was an internal affair of the party.
Nonetheless Anyanwu has continued to insist that he remains the PDP scribe. In April the NWC at its 600th meeting on April 29 ratified all the proposals by the governors and mandated the South East to nominate a substantive national secretary.
The NWC also mandated Koshedo to take over the running of the national secretariat, in acting capacity, pending the nomination of a substantive national secretary from the South East.
The South East PDP at a meeting in Enugu State Government House, two weeks ago, re-nominated Ude-Okoye as its preferred candidate for national secretary. The nomination was conveyed to the NWC last Wednesday.
The PDP Governors Forum recently set up a seven-man Reconciliation Committee headed by former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, to ensure a rancour free NEC and national convention.
However, in a twist, Wike, in a statement, on Sunday, said he was withdrawing from all agreements reached with party leaders in respect to the crisis.
He said this is because a gentleman’s agreement reached at a meeting with Bauchi Governor, Bala Mohammed, Oyo Governor, Seyi Makinde and Saraki was allegedly violated.
The resolutions, at the meeting, according to the FCT Minister, included that “Senator Samuel Anyanwu remains the National Secretary of the PDP in tandem with the Supreme Court judgement; All legal matters relating to Rivers State must be withdrawn by the National Legal Adviser; The suit on the State of emergency be withdrawn forthwith” and that “nobody should deviate from the agreements so reached.”