PDP BoT insists Ibadan Convention must hold Saturday

The Board of Trustees (BoT) of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has maintained that the party’s national convention scheduled for Saturday in Ibadan must go ahead.

BoT Chairman, Senator Adolphus Wabara, stated this on Thursday while receiving the report of the Reconciliation Committee in Abuja. He said that despite the internal crisis and ongoing legal challenges, the convention would still take place as planned.

The committee, chaired by Hassan Adamu, was inaugurated on Nov. 5 with the mandate to look into issues that would enable the party to hold a free and successful national convention.

Wabara, in an interview with newsmen after the submission of the report, said all the party’s organs had agreed to go on with the convention before suggestions by individuals that the party should constitute a caretaker committee.

“You know the Governor’s Forum, the National Working Committee (NWC), and the BoT. In our last meeting, our communique made mention of us going for the convention.

“But, if for any reason, the Court of Law decides otherwise, because we are relying on the judgement of the Supreme Court, you know, which should have guided the lower courts as of now to take a decision.

“I mean, in a civilised world, these things are interwoven and interconnected. But as far as the organs of the party are concerned, the convention will hold.

“But, if we are stopped by the courts, we are a law-abiding party; we have always been there, we will still get there, and then we will probably obey the law, or obey the last order, as the case may be,” he said.

Responding to concerns that the BoT intervention was coming too late, Wabara denied that the crisis would worsen, insisting that “there is actually no crisis.”

He described the party’s problems as “self-inflicted problems” driven by “elective interests”, suggesting that some politicians are looking ahead to 2031 and want the party to die now to be resurrected for their future use.

Wabara explained that the BoT had swung into action immediately after the 2023 elections but lacked the required funds, which he said were not provided by those who were supposed to.

He reiterated the BoT’s commitment to the survival of PDP.

“I am not thinking of contesting for anything. Naturally, whatever decisions the board takes under my watch will be something to really keep the party alive,” he said.

Presenting the findings, the Committee Chairman, Adamu, described the mandate as a “very difficult assignment” but thanked the BoT for the opportunity.

“We have gone round; we have spoken to various segments of our party, our leaders, the Governors’ Forum and others; we have now come up with our recommendations for a hitch-free convention,” Adamu said.

The Committee Secretary, Chief Mike Oghiadomhe, while presenting the report, outlined the key stakeholders the committee interacted with over the week-long assignment.

The stakeholders, according to him, included the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, the Umar Damagum-led National Working Committee (NWC), the PDP Governors’ Forum and others.

“Arising from that, we now decided to meet with the other members who were suspended, principally the National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, the National Organising Secretary and the National Legal Adviser.

“We met with them in the premises of Anyanwu, and they took their time also to explain things to us. They said quite a lot, and we believed that we had a very useful discussion with them.

“We still went on, and we felt we wanted to have an all-round consultation.

“We met with former Senate President, Sen. Bukola Saraki, and he gave his own opinion to the committee,” he said.

Oghiadomhe, who noted that the committee had weighed the pros and the cons, said that their recommendations were based on their desire to present a roadmap for sustainable and progressive party administration. (NAN)

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