THE 74th National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Tuesday approved August 12 for the party’s Non-Elective Special National Convention billed to hold in Abuja.
The NEC also mandated the Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led National Caretaker Committee of the party to immediately set Standing Disciplinary and Reconciliation Committees.
Briefing journalists at the end of the NEC meeting, the party National Publicity Secretary, Prince Dayo Adeyeye argued that there was no adequate time for the National Caretaker Committee to organize an elective convention.
He explained that while the tenure of the committee was to elapse on August 16, 2017, the time was not enough to meet the constitutional requirements (21 working days) for holding an elective convention.
“When you want to hold an elective national convention, there must be a length of notice to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC and other things.
“But we cannot meet such conditions anymore because there’s no time. But non-elective convention does not require such. It only requires a short time notice to INEC.
“So we need a special non-elective convention to settle all the constitutional matters,” he stated.
Adeyeye further disclosed that proposals for the party’s constitutional amendment have been circulated to party members from national to the ward level in order for them to study and make recommendations, noting that the party leadership is concerned about the issue of internal democracy.
“Constitution amendment will deal decisively with the issue of discipline, internal democracy and administrative bottleneck,” he stressed.
The scribe also said announced the dissolution of the caretaker committees set up by Senator Modu Sheriff in Benue and Jigawa States, adding that “Benue and Jigawa States had no issues but when Sheriff got the Court of Appeal judgment, he set up caretaker committees in those states.
In attendance were governors of Akwa Ibom State, Emmanuel Udom; Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta); Ishaku Darius (Taraba); Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta), Nyesom Wike (Rivers) and Ayodele Fayose (Ekiti) . Others were former governors of Benue State, Gabriel Suswam; Jonah Jang (Plateau); Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom); Ramalan Yero (Kaduna) ; Ibrahim Shema (Katsina); Attahiru Bafarawa (Sokoto) ; ex-National Chairman of the party, Prince Vincent Ogbulafor, immediate past Senate President, David Mark; Senate Minority Whip, Senator Philip Tanimu Aduda, former PDP national chairman, Ahmadu Ali, former acting national chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, ex-minister of Special Duties, Tanimu Turaki; former minister of National Planning, Professor Suleiman Abubakar, former National Women leader, Josephine Anenih and a host of others.
