The National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party has raised the alarm over what it described as ambitious aides and associates of President Goodluck Jonathan, who it said are trying to use their closeness to the President to hijack the party..
The NWC, in a statement signed by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Olisa Metuh, said it is “aware of the clandestine activities of such aides and associates of the President, including their “unholy alliance with some elements in other parties” to undermine and weaken the PDP by attacking its leadership.
“The NWC is aware that these same individuals, who mismanaged the presidential campaigns, are now desperately seeking to cause crisis in the PDP with a view not only to divert attention from their misdeeds but also to ensure that they remain politically relevant by hijacking the party structure for their selfish purposes.
“We are aware that these individuals have been trying to arm-twist the President to summon a meeting of party leaders at the Presidential Villa in the coming days, where the NWC members would be put under pressure to resign, thereby triggering a crisis in the leadership at the national level.
“The party is aware that the same group has been sponsoring series of amorphous bodies and negative publications in a section of the media to peddle false allegations against the NWC to back their heinous and unconstitutional demands that the President should sack the NWC before the handover date of May 29, 2015,” the statement read.
Metuh added, “For the purposes of clarity, especially for those making uninformed demands on the President, the PDP National Working Committee is duly elected and its tenure ends in March 2016 in line with the provisions of the party’s constitution.
“The PDP is a party built on the rule of law and democratic ethos. Its NWC is elected and not appointed and as such cannot be sacked at will or by an executive fiat. Besides, no section of the party’s constitution prescribes that the NWC should quit if the party loses in a general election.”
He noted that the PDP constitution was clear on the process of conveying a meeting of party leaders and the role of the NWC in that regard was well-defined, adding that anything outside the laid down rules and the provisions of the constitution in this respect was completely of no effect.
The party’s spokesman said Jonathan had amply demonstrated his strict adherence to the rule of law and the tenets of democracy even on issues of party administration and should not, in anyway, be hassled by those he described as selfish and greedy elements to destroy his legacies.
