The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after rising rose from its National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting yesterday declared that it will setup disciplinary and reconciliation committees.
This comes as the former national chairman, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, said he was not invited to the national caucus meeting of the party.
It also fixed a non-elective convention on August 12, 2017, which according to sources might extend the tenure of the Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led National Caretaker Committee (NCC).
The NEC, which is the second largest organ of the party, after the national convention, further dissolved the caretaker committees of the party in Jigawa and Benue states, which were constituted by the former national chairman, Ali Modu Sheriff, ahead of the local government elections in both states.
These were part of the resolutions reached at the 74th NEC meeting of the PDP which held at its national secretariat in Abuja. The meeting was preceded by an expanded caucus, main Caucus and Board of Trustees (BoT) meetings.
However, it was learnt that despite the no victor, no vanquished proclamations by Makarfi and some other leaders in the party, some interests within the party are strongly agitating for sanctions against Sheriff as a deterrent to future uprisings within the party.
Adeyeye, who stated that the disciplinary and reconciliation committees were not targeted at Sheriff however stated that “People know that this party had been rocked by very terrible disciplinary issues, which nearly brought the party down completely.
“NEC decided to set up a standing Disciplinary and Reconciliation Committees. And the National Caretaker Committee has been directed to establish and inaugurate these committees immediately.”
He further added that the party has commenced the process of reviewing its constitution to address acts of indiscipline, imposition and resort to legal option without exhausting the conflict resolution mechanisms within the party.
Speaking on the non-elective convention in Abuja on August 12, he said, “We took a decision on the National Convention. I want to inform you that if you recollect, on May 21st last year, there was a national convention in Port Harcourt which set up a caretaker committee.
“That committee went about doing its work and convened another Convention for August 17 last year. That Convention in Port Harcourt could not elect new officers due to certain circumstances. The convention then asked the National Caretaker Committee to continue in office for 12 months, which will lapse in August 16, 2016.
“We have been in court since May 2016. So, the prolonged litigation of the national leadership tussle ended only last week, July 12 when the Supreme Court gave judgement in favour of the National Caretaker Committee, leaving barely one month for the conduct of proper elective national convention, taking into account the relevant statutory notice that we need to give to INEC and the requirements of the PDP Constitution 2012 (as amended).
Practically, it is going to be impossible to have an elective national convention before August 16 because we need to give certain statutory notices to INEC. And our own has some special provisions that we have to meet and there’s no time to meet up with those provisions.
“Therefore, NEC took a decision that in view of all the circumstances, NEC invoking the powers conferred on it under Section 31 (2a), decided to convene non-elective national convention on August 12, 2017 in Abuja.”
On the issue of the removal of state caretaker committees, Adeyeye said, “You will recall that immediately after the Court of Appeal judgment on the 17th of February and March in Port Harcourt, which gave our victory to Ali Modu-Sheriff, he set about installing caretaker committees in some states of the federation, particularly in Jigawa and Benue states.
The Ali Modu-Sheriff group then in authority set up caretaker committees in both Jigawa and Benue states and tinkered with the executives of some other states. So, we brought a motion before NEC today and the motion was duly passed.
