A cloud of uncertainty is hovering over the proposed National Convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) due to a lack of agreement on resolving contentious pre-convention issues among the warring factions within the party.
The elective convention is scheduled for Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, on November 15.
To achieve a hitch-free, valid and successful convention, the camp of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike has listed six conditions that should be met by the party’s national leadership.
But the National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Damagum, PDP Governors Forum Chairman Bala Mohammed and Board of Trustees (BoT) Secretary Ahmed Makarfi said nothing can stop the convention.
Members of Wike’s group, who met on Monday night at the minister’s official residence in Abuja, warned that failure to meet the demands would “render the proposed convention invalid, as legitimate members of the party would be disenfranchised.”
At the ‘Eminent Persons and Stakeholders of PDP meeting’ were Wike, PDP National Secretary Senator Samuel Anyanwu, former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose, former Enugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, former Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu and former Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom.
The meeting was also attended by the Speaker of the Rivers House of Assembly, Martins Amaewhule, Senator Phillips Aduda, Senator George Sekibo, Micah Jiba, some serving and former members of the National Assembly, as well as some state chairmen and some BoT members.
A communique read by Ortom listed the demands as follows:
• Fresh congresses to be held in Ebonyi and Anambra states in strict compliance with subsisting court judgments;
• A new Southeast Zonal Congress must be urgently conducted.
• The outcome of the Southsouth Congress in Calabar, already upheld by the courts, must be respected;
• PDP should immediately conduct the Ekiti local government congresses in line with judicial pronouncements;
• There should be no micro-zoning of offices, beyond the general zoning formula already adopted by the National Executive Committee (NEC) to maintain peace and stability; and
• The national chairmanship position must remain in the Northcentral, consistent with the zoning arrangement of the 2021 convention.
In a veiled reference to the threats from the Wike camp, Governor Mohammed said the PDP is not afraid of anyone.
He said: “We are not cowards and we are not afraid of any person. We can’t keep quiet and allow people to continue to take us to the slaughterhouse or take us for granted: enough is enough.
“We agree to consensus and accommodation, but that is not cowardice.
“If anybody wants to form a faction of fools, we will allow him.”
The governor spoke after the inauguration of the Adamawa State Governor Ahmadu Fintiri-led convention committee by National Chairman Iliya Damgum.
Damagum said the preparations for the convention would go on unaltered, based on the resolutions of the last NEC meeting.
With Damagum were Fintiri, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, Governor Mohammed, Deputy Governors of Enugu and Osun states, and BoT Secretary Ahmed Makarfi.
Anyanwu and Ortom, who were at the meeting of the Wike camp, were also present.
Source: The Nation
