PDP NWC submits reports on Wike as NEC meets Thursday

The Peoples Democratic Party’s National Working Committee will submit a report to the National Executive Committee on Thursday that names party members who engaged in anti-party activities during the general elections of 2023.

The PDP’s national leadership gave the Federal Capital Territory’s and the 36 state chapters’ chairmen instructions on March 26 to identify any members of their organizations engaged in anti-party activities ahead of the general elections in 2023.

The instruction was given by PDP National Organising Secretary Umar Bature during a National Working Committee meeting with state chairmen in Abuja.”We expected the state chapters to give us their reports, that is, the post-2023 election reports,” he stated after the elections. We need to compile the reports from the states that have not submitted them in time for the upcoming NEC meeting.”Party members are agitating a lot; you are the ones in control of those states; stop doing this, stop doing that. Please let us know who participated in anti-party activities and who did not, and the NEC will make a determination based on your information.

Whatever happened, write to us and let us know what happened.The National Working Committee will present the anti-party report to the NEC on Thursday, according to a high-ranking committee member who declined to comment on the record because of the delicate nature of the subject.

Our correspondents learned on Tuesday that Nyesom Wike, the former governor of Rivers State, who publicly opposed the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, might be included in the list that is to be presented to the NEC on Thursday.

Under the auspices of the G-5 PDP governors, Wike had led his counterparts in Oyo State, Seyi Makinde; Benue, Samuel Ortom; Ebonyi, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi; and Abia, Okezie Ikpeazu, in opposing Atiku.Wike was against Atiku running for president because, after winning the presidential primary, the former vice president chose not to name the former governor of Rivers State as his running mate.

After that, Wike actively campaigned against Atiku and the PDP while simultaneously endorsing Bola Tinubu, the former presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress.Party sources had informed that in response to allegations of anti-party activities during the 2023 elections, Wike, Ortom, Ugwuanyi, Ikpeazu, and other party leaders connected to the G-5 would be subject to sanctions by the NWC, as a result of Atiku’s camp organizing several independent groups within the party.

The NWC members, stated, “The list will be submitted to the NEC. The list of those involved in anti-party activities is not viewed as a punishment. The report will be presented to the NEC, and based on the report, the disciplinary committee will identify individuals according to their roles and recommend appropriate sanctions.

Thus, after being submitted to the NEC, the report will be reviewed by the disciplinary committee and recommendations will be returned to the NEC.In addition to the anti-party report, the question of whether the party’s acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, should be replaced or kept in office will probably be the main focus of the NEC meeting.

There have been demands for a substantive chairman to take Damagum’s place.After the party’s National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, was suspended by the court in March of last year, the former PDP National Deputy Chairman (North) assumed the role of acting national chairman.

“The NWC convened to agree on the agenda for the caucus and NEC meeting,” said a member of the NWC, who yearned for anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the issue. Owing to an ongoing legal dispute, the party’s national chairmanship will not be discussed.

The matter will be returned to the North Central for recommendations following an out-of-court resolution.”At this time, the NWC is not vacant. As a result, the NEC is unable to confirm Damagum as the official chairman or a substitute for Ayu. He is going to keep acting.”We will be talking about our state congresses at the caucus. Additionally, we will work to have the NWC’s decisions ratified. We will also establish a committee to deal with disciplinary issues and reconciliation.

In the interim, decisions regarding reconciliation, disciplinary actions, and other matters that might affect the PDP’s future are anticipated to be made by the 52 members of the National Caucus Committee at their meeting on Thursday.

Prior to the NEC meeting, a significant gathering of party stakeholders called the PDP National Caucus meets and sets the agenda for all significant decisions to be made there.If the national caucus comes to an agreement on anything, the NEC usually just has to approve it; if not, other eligible NEC members will cast votes in favor of or against the proposed resolution.52 of the PDP National Caucus’s current members may attend the meeting on Thursday, according to the findings.

Part VIII, section 30 (1) of the PDP Constitution 2017, as amended, states that the national chairman, who also serves as the caucus chairman, will lead the party’s national caucus.In the meantime, the NWC, the National Executive Committee, and the BoT have been urged by the House of Representatives PDP caucus to settle all legal disputes in order to advance the party. At the conclusion of their Tuesday meeting at the National Assembly complex in Abuja, the caucus led by the Minority Leader, Chinda, delivered the recommendations.

The legislators supported by Governor Fubara were present at the meeting, with Ikenga Ugochinyere, the representative for Ideato North/Ideato South Federal Constituency in Imo State, leading the group.The debate followed the NEC meeting that was set to take place at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja on Thursday.

The House of Representatives minority caucus decided to call on all party caucuses, the Board of Trustees, the National Executive Committee, and the National Working Committee to embark on reconciliation measures to revolve all litigations that are pending and impeding the party in any way whatsoever from having a substantive chairman, Chinda said in an address to reporters at the conclusion of the meeting. “We demand that the PDP leaders uphold their unwavering commitment to the party and see to it that it is relocated to its rightful place as the biggest party in Africa—a status that is purportedly our birthright.” Chinda went on to say that there is no reason the party could not win the 2027 presidential election if all hands were on deck.

The caucus also granted the administration of President Bola Tinubu three months to address the nation’s security state. We came to the conclusion that we could not continue to allow Nigeria to be labeled as “one life, one minute silence.” As a result, the government is urged to act right now to guarantee that the nation’s security situation returns to normal.

The government has been given a three-month deadline to accomplish this. “The caucus will take additional steps to sensitize and mobilize Nigerians to take their security into their own hands after three months,” he continued.

The senatorial caucus demanded that the Senate leadership call for the recall of Abdul Ningi, the Bauchi Central lawmaker who was suspended a few weeks prior for claiming that the National Assembly was manipulating the 2024 budget to the tune of N3 trillion.