PDP insists Sheriff’s tenure ends May 21

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday said that the May 21 date for its national convention remained the natural date to end the tenure of the current National Working Committee (NWC) led by Senator Ali Modu Sheriff.

It said no decision had been taken to change the resolution of its National Executive Committee (NEC), which ‎decided among others early this month to hold the convention in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, to elect a new national leadership.

The office of the National Publicity Secretary of PDP told The Guardian when contacted yesterday that no change has been made on any of the decisions taken by PDP-NEC regarding the tenure of the current NWC as well as that of the National Chairman.

It would be recalled that in a communiqué issued at the end of the party’s 69th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting at the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja on March 7, 2016, the PDP “approved the extension of the tenure of office of all organs of the party at all levels until the conduct of congresses and national convention.‎”

The NEC meeting equally approved the time table for the party’s congresses and national convention to the effect that congresses would commence on Saturday, April 23, 2016 and culminate in the national convention on Saturday, May 21, 2016.

The PDP’s NEC also approved the party’s guidelines for congresses and the national convention, which provided that the national convention would hold in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

However, March 7, 2016 NEC meeting approved the extension of the tenure of office of all organs of the party, including the Sheriff-led NWC until the conduct of congresses and national convention.

Barely a week after the NEC decision, leaders of the South-West Chapter of the PDP stormed the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja and presented a position paper to Sheriff advocating the retention of the national chairmanship position of the party in the northern part of the country.

The South-West leaders said if the national chairmanship position of the party comes to the South, it would result in branding PDP a regional party.

The paper said: “We say this because out of the five states‎ in the South-East, the PDP has three governors; we have five governors out of the six states in the South-South; in the South-West, we have two governors.

“In the whole of the North, we have only two governors. We need to strengthen the North. If not, the PDP will be branded as a regional party if we go ahead to pick the National Chairman from the South.”

The paper, which also contained situation report on the state of PDP in the South-West, was signed by Buruji Kashamu, Teslim Folarin, state chairmen of the party in the state and 30 others.

The party leaders from the zone led by the South-West National Vice Chairman, Makanjuola Ogundipe, had presented the report when they paid a solidarity visit to the National Working Committee (NWC) led by Modu Sheriff.

The paper, which was copied to Governors Olusegun Mimiko and Ayo Fayose of Ondo and Ekiti states, as well as former PDP Deputy National ‎Chairman, Chief Bode George and former Governor Gbenga Daniel, said the resolution was reached after consultation with over 70 per cent of party members in the South-West.