How Rep plotted to appoint Ag nat’l chairman
Governors elected on the platform of the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday declared the crisis rocking the party over, and called on the National Working Committee (NWC) to recall two suspended national officers.
The reconciliation comes on the heels of the revelation that a serving member of the House of Representatives spearheaded the plot to appoint a factional national chairman for the party.
Checks also revealed that the same federal lawmaker (name withheld) is the brain behind the relatively unknown political party that swept the recent council election in a key south-south state.
Speaking to reporters yesterday in Abuja, chairman of the PDP governors forum, Governor Bala Mohammed said the decision to broker a truce ce after the forum met representatives of the NWC, the party’s National Assembly Caucus, and the Board of Trustees (BoT).
Said the governor, “I want to inform you on behalf of the PDP Governors Forum, Chairman of the Senate Caucus, and the representative of the BoT.
“We had a family meeting, and we wish to reaffirm that there is no faction in the PDP. There is no faction; everything has reverted to the status quo under acting Chairman Damagum, pending the time the governors and other organs of the party will sit down and resolve all the issues.
“There is no party that does not have problems. Some of them are legal, and we do not want to preempt the outcome of legal procedures,” noted the governor.
The investigation revealed that the federal lawmaker, who has been very vocal concerning the party’s activities, is reportedly behind the torent of press releases purportedly emanating from National Treasurer, Ahmed Yayari Mohammed.
Last Friday, the National Working Committee, led by acting National Chairman Umar Damagum, suspended National Legal Adviser Kamaldeen Ajibade (SAN) and National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba for alleged anti-party activities.
While Ajibade was suspended for, among other things, filing a Notice of Discontinuance regarding a PDP matter before the Court of Appeal Court, Port Harcourt, without authorization, Ologunagba’s bothered on issuing a, statement which “greatly embarrassed the party.”
In a statement titled “PDP National Working Committee (NWC) Directs NPS and NLA to Step Aside,” the party leadership said it “constituted a committee to be chaired by the Deputy National Chairman (South) H.E. Amb. Taofeek Arapaja, to investigate the issues raised against the officers in compliance with the provisions of the Constitution of the Party.”
According to the statement, which was signed by the party’s national director of publicty, Chinwe I. Nnorom, the NWC asked brahim Abdullahi Manga, Esq, deputy National Publicity Secretary and Barr. Okechukwu Osuoha, deputy National Legal Adviser, to act for the suspended officers.
However, few hours after PDP announced the suspension of Ajibade and Ologunagba, the suspended spokesman issued what seemed a counter-statement.
According to Ologunagba, the NWC suspended Ambassador Illiya Damagun and Senator Samuel Anyanwu, acting national chairman and national secretary respectively.
“Consequently, the NWC, pursuant to Sections 57, 58 and 59 of the PDP Constitution, has suspended Amb. Illiya Damagum and Sen. Samuel Anyanwu as Acting National Chairman and National Secretary of the Party respectively and referred them to the National Disciplinary Committee for further action,” Ologunagba wrote.
A senior staff of the party secretariat alleged that the federal lawmaker has been responsible for several happenings aimed at dividing the NWC.
He said, “The suspended national publicity secretary wasn’t at the said NWC meeting, as he is currently out of the country. The National Treasurer, Ahmed Yayari Mohammed, they purportedly appointed acting national chairman is from Gombe State.
“If, indeed, the disagreement is about zoning,” he argued, “the logical thing was for them to have appointed the suspended National legal adviser, Kamaldeen Ajibade (SAN), acting national chairman, since he’s from Kwara state, in the same north central zone that produced Senator Iyorchia Ayu.
“The NWC has a total of 13 members. How could only two of the 13 members purport to act on behalf of the remaining 15? What is more, did you notice that the national treasurer they claimed to have appointed is playing dumb. He has yet to utter a single word. All you hear he said are statements written by the suspended spokesman and this mischievous federal lawmaker,” noted the party official.
” The same federal lawmaker who was in the thick of the Dangote refinery/NNPCL disagreement, is the one spearheading this confusion in our party. He has been deceiving one south-south governor, claiming that he controls over five dozen federal lawmakers. This is his business centre. I’m however happy that his plan for PDP has failed,” he declared.
