In an apparent move to reconcile some controversial issues threatening to divide members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), President Goodluck Jonathan will tonight hold a meeting with all members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party.
This is coming as the Governor of Adamawa State, Admiral Murtala Nyako (rtd), has rallied all the governors elected on the platform of the party against Alhaji Bamanga Tukur-led NWC, urging the PDP governors to resist the plot of gradual dissolution of the state executive chapters of the party by the national headquarters.
Also, the number of members of the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT) jostling to become the Board’s chairman has risen to 20.
THISDAY gathered that President Jonathan summoned the NWC to a meeting because of some internal wrangling between the NWC and the Adamawa State chapter of the party, especially with the conduct of the local government elections, the crisis in Kaduna State and other chapters of the party.
The meeting is scheduled to hold in the Presidential Villa, Abuja by 8p.m.
Similarly, it was gathered that Nyako was rallying all the PDP governors against the dissolution of the party executive led by Mijinywa Kaugama.
In a letter dated December 10, 2012 and titled: ‘Brief on Matters Leading to the Dissolution of Adamawa State PDP Executive by the NWC on October 17 2012’ and addressed to all the PDP governors, Nyako called on the governors to resist the dissolution of the state PDP executive.
In the letter, Nyako said: “I submit that if this unjust dissolution of the Adamawa State executive is left unchecked, every other state executive would soon find itself facing similar unjust treatment with repercussion for all. Let us collectively save our party.
“Our prayer in Adamawa State is that the decision of the NWC to dissolve the state executive is yet to be ratified by the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party and therefore let the dissolution be rescinded in the spirit of justice and fairness.”
It was as a result of this that the PDP governors held a meeting in the early hours of Thursday last week, where they resolved to send 12 PDP governors led by the governor of Rivers State, Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, to meet the NWC.
At the meeting, the PDP governors insisted on rescinding the dissolution of the state chapter of the party, saying that it was only the National Executive Council (NEC) of the party that has the constitutional powers to dissolve the state executive chapters of the party.
Commenting on the outcome of the meeting, the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Olisa Metu, said the PDP governors urged the NWC to revisit the dissolution of the Kaugama-led PDP in Adamawa State, at least because of the remorse so far shown by Nyako.
Metu, who did not categorically state that the state PDP dissolved executive would be rescinded, however, said the Tukur-led NWC expressed their desire to work with the PDP governors in a “cordial atmosphere,” explaining that the governors are ‘super delegates’ and their opinions matter in issues of PDP. Metu said the PDP governors also passed a vote of confidence on President Jonathan and the Tukur-led NWC.
Specifically, he said: “The PDP governors passed a vote of confidence on how the President has been managing the security challenges in the country and how the Tukur-led party had been running the party since March 24, 2012.”
Meanwhile, the Secretary of the PDP BoT, Senator Walid Jubirin, has said 20 members out the 98 members of the board have indicated interest to become the new BoT chairman by January 2013.
Of the 20 applicants, the secretary of the PDP said some of the aspirants were not members of the board and as such, “their application to become the BoT chairman is of no consequences. You cannot lead a board that you are not a member.”
-Thisday