PDP governors meet as internal crisis heightens

• Tinubu returns as Adamu engages APC state chairmen to douse tension

As the internal crisis in the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) persists, governors elected on its platform will meet today in Abuja, for an emergency meeting over the state of the party and the nation.

An enlarged meeting of leaders and stakeholders, which was held last month at its national secretariat, failed to resolve the pre and post-election crisis that bedeviled the party. At that meeting, the party cautioned its members against engaging in blame games over the outcome of the 2023 general elections.

Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, confirmed that the leadership had earlier met with stakeholders to resolve the lingering crisis, adding that today’s meeting is part of the reconciliation move.

The meeting is being convened by the chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum, Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State. All the party’s 13 governors are expected to attend the meeting, which is scheduled to be held at the Akwa Ibom Governor’s Lodge, Asokoro, Abuja.

A statement by the Director General of the PDP Governors’ Forum, C.I.D. Maduabum said the meeting will also discuss the state of the nation, especially recent developments in the country, politically, socially, and economically.

“The meeting will deliberate on the state of the Forum, the party, and the role of governors in stabilising PDP and the nation. In addition, the new leadership of the Forum may likely unfold their unity and progressive agenda during the meeting,” Maduabum added.

It’s the first meeting of the Forum since Mohammed became its chairman and Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State got elected as vice chairman in June.

MEANWHILE, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has shifted its national caucus and National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting to Tuesday and Wednesday next week. This is as the forum of states APC chairmen threw its weight behind the national chairman of the party, Abdullahi Adamu.

The parley was earlier scheduled to be held between yesterday and today. APC’s national secretary, Iyiola Omisore, explained that the postponement was necessitated by the regional and sub-regional schedules and engagements of President Bola Tinubu as the new Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

This is just as President Tinubu returned to Abuja yesterday evening after a two-day official visit to Bissau, the capital of Guinea-Bissau, where he participated in the activities of the 63rd Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS. President Tinubu arrived the Presidential Wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, at about 6:30pm, aboard the NAF 001 Boeing 737 aircraft.

Apparently to quell welling discontent within the party, Adamu yesterday engaged APC states’ Chairmen to brief them on his stewardship. Speaking at the opening session of the parley, which came a few days after he met governors, Adamu also sought political patronage from President Tinubu for party stakeholders.

While he urged the party chairmen to always draw the attention of the National Working Committee (NWC) to crises in their states or at the national level, Adamu said the parley was important since the chairmen are the ones who “bear the brunt” in their respective states.

At a meeting with governors last week, Adamu had stirred the hornet’s nest when he dissociated the NWC from the appointment of principal officers in both chambers of the National Assembly. His refusal to also provide an audited report of the party’s finances over the past year had caused rancour within the NWC.

Also, there have been speculations that some stakeholders of the party, particularly from the Southwest, had developed a list of Adamu’s ‘sins’, which they hope to use to get the President’s support for his removal.

It emerged yesterday that APC governors will also be meeting today to deliberate on the state of affairs in the party ahead of the rescheduled National Caucus and NEC meetings.

Chairman of the Cross River state APC chapter, Alphonsus Ogar, faulted the notion that the NEC meeting was shifted due to the crisis in the party. Ogar, who spoke on behalf of the forum of APC Chairmen, restated the confidence of the Forum in the Adamu-led NWC.

He said: “There’s nothing like that if you have been following the itinerary of Mr President, he’s presently not in the country and he’s expected to proceed for another journey again. That was the reason NWC amply informed us and that was what necessitated the postponement. Also, there’s only one APC, and we came again in solidarity to say we are strongly behind our national chairman and the NWC.”

On whether they have inputs in appointments into boards and agencies of government, he said: “That is complete rumour because whatever you might have heard about board membership, those letters were addressed to state chairmen, and every state chairman is loyal to his governor and where there’s no governor, they are loyal to the stakeholders.

“There’s no such crisis, in fact we must commend Mr President for playing to his promise of saying that state chairmen should be captains of the ship in their states and I can assure you that letters were addressed to us.”

Earlier on, Adamu expressed optimism that President Tinubu will surely carry along the party in the appointment of heads of agencies of government in the days ahead.

He added: “Every APC member has an inherent right to hope to get some patronage. And we can all get one here. We cannot all be ministers of the government. We cannot all end up as board members, directors of parastatals and MDAs across the country.”