The Deputy National Chairman (South) of the party, Taofeek Arapaja, has addressed the growing calls for the suspension of former Rivers State governor and current Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesome Wike, and other members of the defunct G5 governors within the PDP over alleged anti-party activities.
He disclosed in an interview with Saturday PUNCH on Friday in reaction to the resolutions reached at Thursday’s NEC meeting of the party and its North Central Zone leadership meeting held on Wednesday night.
Ahead of the two meetings, some top chieftains of the party, including former PDP governorship candidate in Kogi State, Senator Dino Melaye, had boasted that every top chieftain of the party accused of anti-party activities would get serious sanctions from the party’s NEC on Thursday.
On Thursday, the PDP NEC, however, failed to comment on the alleged anti-party issues and further retained the party’s former Vice Chairman (North), Umar Damagum as the party’s acting national chairman till its next NEC meeting.
Reacting in an interview with Saturday PUNCHon Friday, the PDP National Vice Chairman (South-West) said both Wike and Ortom cannot be suspended by the party’s NEC because it is not the duty of the NEC to do so.
He said, “I think that is not part of the activities of the NEC. We have different committees like the reconciliation committee and the disciplinary committee. So we have internal mechanisms to deal with things like that. And then, they have never been accused; they have never been charged and they haven’t presented themselves for the disciplinary committee or anything. So, I don’t think that is for NEC to do.
“Whoever is alleging them of committing anti-party should forward their complaints to the disciplinary committee. That is just it. There are lots of mechanisms and processes that need to take place and things like that are not the duty of the NEC.”
