By HENRY UMORU
ABUJA—National leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday bowed to pressure from governors elected on the party’s platform and made a U-Turn on its earlier decision by recalling the sacked Adamawa State Executive Committee.
The decision was the anti-climax of the fight for supremacy between Governor Murtala Nyako and the PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, just as the move by the party has made the Sule Lamido’s Ad-hoc Committee on Resolution of Adamawa State Adamawa State irrelevant.
The governors had threatened to sack the Alhaji Tukur-led National Working Committee, NWC, and replace it with a caretaker committee if the party failed to change its decision on Adamawa where the executive allegedly loyal to Nyako was removed.
Last October, the NWC dissolved the Adamawa State PDP executive committee led by Alhaji Umaru Kugama and replaced it with the Amb. Umar Damagun- led nine-member caretaker committee to oversee affairs of the party.
Disclosing the decision of the party rescinding its dissolution of Adamawa State executive of PDP the Deputy National Chairman, Dr. Sam Jaja described the recent congresses held in the state as null and void.
PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Tukur was conspicuously absent at the briefing on the excuse from Jaja that he was preparing for the meeting of the Board of Trustees, BoT.
PDP Chairman, Bamanga Tukur
Jaja was flanked by National Secretary, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola; National Legal Adviser, Victor Kwon; National Woman Leader, Mrs Kema Chikwe; National Youth leader, Garba Umar Chiza; National Auditor, Chief Bode Mustapha; National Organising Secretary, Abubakar Mustapha; National Treasurer, Bala Kaoje; National Financial Secretary, Elder Bolaji Akpan Anani and National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh. The only NWC members absent were Alhaji Tukur and Deputy National Secretary, Solomon Onwe.
Jaja said, ‘’yesterday January 8, 2013, members of the NWC acting under Article 29(3), and with 10 members present out of 12, held an emergency NWC on this burning subject.
The emergency NWC decided to announce the following: The NWC in its 325th meeting of Wednesday, December 12, 2012 had rescinded the dissolution of the PDP Adamawa State executive.
“The NWC had earlier dissolved the Adamawa State Executive under Article 29(2)(b) wherein we acted on behalf of Article 31(2)(e) powers of the NEC. But it is instructive to note that the ward and local government executives of Adamawa State were never dissolved.
“At its 314th meeting of August 29, 2012, the NWC had upheld the March 2012 ward and local government
executives except for one LGA which was later ratified. The NWC is, therefore, surprised, shocked and embarrassed to read in the newspapers of the purported ward, local government and state congresses said to be on-going in Adamawa State.
NWC dissociates PDP from action
“For the records, the National Working Committee, hereby dissociate the party leadership from the purported congresses, which were neither authorised by the NWC nor monitored and/or supervised by the National Secretariat.
In the history of PDP, only the National Secretariat conducts state congresses.
“Based upon the above therefore, the NWC hereby, declare the purported congresses null, void and of no effect whatsoever.
“Consequently, we hereby declare that the only state executive committee constitutionally recognised by this party is the Mijinyawa Kugama executive lawfully elected in March 2012 and endorsed by the National Convention.”
Also recall that PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh who announced the dissolution of the reinstated executive in October last year had said that the dissolved exco had “flagrantly disregarded and shown serial disobedience to the decisions of NWC.
“On behalf of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of our great party, the National Working Committee hereby dissolves the Adamawa State Executive Committee of the PDP.
“This is in exercise of Article 31, section 2(e) and 29, 2(b) of the 2012 amended constitution of our party and consequent on repeated breaches of the constitution by the Adamawa State chapter. A caretaker committee has been set up in its place.
“Article 31(2) (e) specifically empowers the NWC thus: “where necessary, dissolve a State Executive Committee and appoint a caretaker committee to run the party until another Executive Committee is elected, provided that the period from the dissolution to the election of the new executive shall not exceed three months.”
Metuh noted further that the dissolved exco conducted illegal local government elections and still went ahead to submit a list of candidates to the State Independent National Electoral Commission without the approval of the NWC.
He said, “this is contrary to the provisions of Section 50(1) of the constitution of the party which among others, states that the National Executive Committee which the NWC acts on behalf of in this respect, is the final authority for the formulation of guidelines and regulations for the nomination of candidates for election into public offices and conveying same to INEC or any other authority to whom it may concern.
“The NWC also referred to complaints and petitions from principal stakeholders of the party in Adamawa State on various unconstitutional acts of the dissolved state exco, especially the principle of zoning as enshrined in Article 7(3)(e) of the party constitution, as well as several letters from INEC complaining of non-compliance with relevant laws in the conduct of the Adamawa State congresses.”
The statement regretted that all entreaties by the leadership of the party to get the Adamawa chapter to rescind or reverse the alleged constitutional breaches proved abortive, adding, tThe NWC exhaustively discussed and frowned at the disagreeable trend where members of the party elected and appointed into federal positions engage in utterances and actions that portray the PDP in bad light and as having no unity of purpose.”
The nine-member caretaker committee was sworn-in to replace the sacked exco. It was expected to run the affairs of the chapter for the next three months, pending further directives from the national leadership.
The caretaker committee which was chaired by Alhaji Umar Damagun with Emmanuel Tsamdu as the secretary, has others as members, Mr. Eli Gamaliel; Mr Dahiru Shehu; Alhaji Sabo Mohammed; Mrs Grace Mamba; Mrs. Altine Inuwa; Adamu Wazirin Paka; and Mr. Samuel Zadok.
Following the sack, the embattled Adamawa State governor immediately stormed the PDP Presidential campaign office, in Maitama, Abuja to plead that he erred and he should be forgiven by the leadership of the party.
When his pleas fell on deaf ears, the governors became angry and had to save their own and the governors then rushed to the National Secretariat with Rivers State governor and Chairman, Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi leading the team to plea on behalf of the colleague, yet, the decision was not reversed.
