Seven days after the 20th elective national convention of the Peoples Democratic Party, the Independent National Electoral Commission has yet to endorse the outcome of the exercise.
The bloc loyal to a former National Chairman of the party, Umar Damagun, had organised the convention at the main bowl of the Lekan Salami Stadium, Adamasingba, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, last Saturday amid opposition from the faction loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
But the crisis rocking the party escalated during the convention as the delegates ratified the expulsion of Wike and 10 other high-ranking leaders over alleged anti-party activities.
Also expelled were a former Ekiti State governor, Ayodele Fayose; the party’s National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu; the National Legal Adviser, Kamaldeen Ajibade; and the Deputy National Legal Adviser, Austin Nwachukwu.
The PDP delegates also elected a former Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs, Kabiru Turaki, as the new National Chairman of the party.
In a swift reaction, the factional acting National Chairman, Muhammed Abdulrahman, who leads the faction loyal to Wike, announced the expulsion of Governors Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Bala Muhammed (Bauchi) and other key members of the party over alleged anti-party activities and disobedience to court orders.
The crisis took a violent turn days after the convention as the two factions clashed at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja over control of the headquarters.
Through consensus zoning and delegate affirmation, some other National Working Committee members were also elected by the Damagun bloc at the convention.
They include Hamza Koshe as Deputy National Chairman (North), Daniel Woye as Deputy National Chairman (South), Arapaja Gbola-Oladejo as National Secretary, Ihediwa Nnabugwu as Deputy National Secretary, Isaa Abubakar as National Treasurer, Okechukwu Daniel as National Financial Secretary, and Theophilus Shan as National Organising Secretary.
Others are Ini Ememobong as National Publicity Secretary, Aribisala Idowu as National Auditor, Badaru Shafi’l as National Legal Adviser, Ogbu Chinenyenwa as National Women’s Leader, and Umar Dan Aji as National Youth Leader.
However, a week after the convention, INEC has yet to comment on the outcome or recognise the Turaki-led PDP leaders.
A review of INEC’s official website by Sunday PUNCH on Friday showed that the commission still listed Damagun as the PDP’s National Chairman and Anyanwu as National Secretary.
According to party sources, the development may not be unconnected to the commission’s non-participation at the PDP convention, a move Wike’s camp said had already nullified the outcome.
INEC’s Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Victoria Eta-Messi, declined to comment on the commission’s absence at the convention or why it had yet to endorse the Turaki-led PDP executives.
Speaking to Sunday PUNCH, the spokesperson for the Turaki bloc, Ememobong expressed surprise that INEC had yet to recognise the new PDP NWC leaders despite receiving a list of their names after the convention.
He said, “We took steps to ensure that the right thing was done.”
“We took these steps before the convention to carry INEC along. We have also done this post-convention by sending the list of the new leaders to INEC. It is the duty of the commission to recognise us, and so, the job is theirs to do. It falls within INEC’s realm to do so.”
However, the PDP National Secretary loyal to the Wike bloc, Anyanwu, dismissed Ememobong’s claims.
“Whoever is laying claim to being the original leadership of the party is deceiving himself. Let them go to the INEC office to check. You can also make your inquiry from INEC to know who the authentic leadership is,” he said.
The acting PDP National Youth Leader, who is also part of the Wike camp, Timothy Osadolor, however, said the logjam would soon be resolved by the Appeal Court.
Credit: punchng.com
