PDP BoT condemns continued postponement of NEC meeting 

Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned the continued postponement of the party’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting.
It asked the party leaders from the North Central to get a replacement for the former National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu.

Also, the Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagun, and National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, have threatened to sue Deji Adeyanju, a lawyer and activist, over alleged defamation.

The BoT, which plans to have an urgent meeting with the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, in search of peace and unity for the party, regretted that such endless shifting of the NEC meeting was destructive to efforts to find solutions to party’s challenges.

Since April 2024, when the party’s NEC held its 98th meeting, efforts to convene the 99th meeting have been futile, as the meeting suffered three different postponements.

At an emergency meeting of the BoT in Abuja, yesterday, the chairman, Sen Adolphus Wabara, remarked: “It is with a deep sense of disappointment that I express the board’s dismay at the continued shifting by the National Working Committee (NWC) of NEC meeting. This delay undermines the trust and confidence of our members.”

According to the former president of the Senate, further delays could exacerbate existing challenges and sow unnecessary discord within their ranks.

The board charged the NWC to rise to the occasion, and demonstrate leadership and responsibility by ensuring that the proposed February 2024 date to convene the NEC meeting is adhered to.

Wabara noted that although challenges might arise during governance and administration, “adherence to timelines and commitments is non-negotiable”.

He stressed, “In as much as the BoT serves as the conscience of the party, we expect that the NWC would honour its word and convene the NEC meeting as scheduled. This is critical for resolving pressing issues and charting a clear path forward for the party.”

Lamenting that adherence to democratic tenets in the party had been in abeyance, he added: “Let us remember that our strength lies in our unity and adherence to democratic principles. The NEC serves as a vital platform for decision-making, consultation and collaboration among all levels of the party’s leadership.

“The board will not relent in our efforts to ensure accountability and adherence to the party’s constitution.”

The board also lamented the prevailing economic hardship across the country
and noted that “the skyrocketing cost of living, coupled with poorly implemented economic reforms, has pushed millions into deeper poverty.”

On the need to meet with Wike in search of peace in the party, Wabara charged PDP leaders, particularly governors, to improve their unity restoration efforts.

In a communique read by Wabara at the end of the emergency meeting, the BoT urged the party leaders from the zone to convene a meeting of stakeholders to nominate a replacement for Ayu.
According to the document, board members at the meeting thoroughly assessed the state of affairs in the party and the country and expressed deep worry over the state of affairs, particularly with regard to administration.

It demanded the NWC to immediately commence the restoration of internal harmony, unity, stability and public confidence in the party, according to the PDP constitution.
THE two PDP chieftains made this known in two separate letters and the acknowledged copies were gleaned, yesterday, in Abuja.

While Damagun’s letter was dated December 4, Anyanwu’s was dated December 5.

One of the letters was entitled ‘Demand for the Immediate Retraction of the Defamatory Statements Made Against Amb. Umar Iliya Damagun, the Acting National Chairman of PDP on Social Media Platforms: With A Call for a Corresponding Apology’.

In the two letters, Damagun and Anyanwu, through their counsel, Johnson Usman (SAN), asked Adeyanju to retract the statements and tender an apology in national dailies and other social media platforms to avert the looming legal tussle.

The letter, signed by Israel Ujah, a lawyer in the law firm of Usman, alleged that Adeyanju intentionally made some inflammatory and derogatory remarks against the persons of Damagun and Anyanwu.

Ujah accused Adeyanju of describing the PDP national chair on a podcast interview as a “Tea man who goes to serve tea in Femi Gbajabiamila’s House.” He equally alleged that Adeyanju described Anyanwu as a “Kilishi Man” who goes to serve “Kilishi” at the residence of Gbajabiamila, in the interview.

He said Adeyanju, in the interview, said: “This current PDP is in the pocket of Nyesom Wike at the national level.”