The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) remains unsettled as it heads for its December 9 convention.
National chairman aspirant Prof. Tunde Adeniran has kicked against the list of panelists to conduct the ward delegates’ election ahead of the convention. He has petitioned the leadership.
The party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting has been fixed for Abuja to ratify the list, among other decisions on the convention.
Adeniran said many members of the committee are sympathisers and supporters of Prince Uche Secondus, another chairmanship candidate.
In the Southwest, the faction led by Chief Makanjuola Ogundipe is laying claim to legitimacy. The leadership recognises Dr. Eddy Olafeso as the Vice Chairman (Southwest). Makanjuola is threatening a lawsuit should his faction be denied participation at the convention.
In Oyo State, a meeting on Sunday to settle the differences between the two factions on Sunday broke up in disagreement.
The director general of Adeniran’s Campaign Organisation, Alhaji Shehu Gabam, said the peace accord entered into by the eight chairmanship aspirants is threatened.
”A particular state has members on that list and some of them are the leading campaigners for Prince Uche Secondus. We as campaign organisation were not consulted to bring one or two persons and I am sure other aspirants were not consulted too.
“It is an indirect way of short-changing other aspirants. The spirit behind the MoU we signed has been violated, not by the aspirants but by the party managers,” Gabam said.
The Adeniran camp mentioned Senator George Sekibo, Mr. Austin Opara, ThanGod Danagogo, Chief Kenneth Ubani Emeka Ihedioha as some of the Secondus loyalists on the list.
The Adeniran camp said: “Now you have just one chairmanship aspirant having his men deeply entrenched in a system that would determine how the delegates will emerge.
“The party created the division among the aspirants. The party should provide an equal base for all aspirants and I want to say that we disagree with the composition of this list.”
Adeniran urged the party leadership to shun impunity and imposition of candidates, saying PDP must learn from past mistakes.
The camp yesterday rejected the call by the Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose for shadow primary elections for aspirants from the South West, saying the governor had already taken sides.
The Caretaker Committee of the PDP said: “We have received a petition written by Prof Adeniran on the matter and the Caretaker Committee will meet to discuss the petition this week.”
Ogundipe told reporters that the faction remained the authentic executive in the zone based on a subsisting court judgment.
Ogundipe said the continued recognition of Olafeso as Vice Chairman (Southwest) ran afoul of the law as there had been no superior order to nullify the subsisting Abuja court judgment.
“We are the authentic Southwest zonal executive of the PDP, based on a subsisting court judgment and we want the party to accord us the due recognition.
“Any other group parading themselves as exco from the zone is committing an illegality as there has been no better judgement to nullify the court judgement affirming us as the authentic executive.
“Moreso, the subsisting court order restrained Olafeso and his group from participating in the Dec. 9 national convention.
“We do not want to constitute any problem to the convention and that is why we are saying the party should operate in accordance with law and allow us to present delegates from the zone.
“In the event that we are excluded, just as we were at the non-elective convention in Port-Harcourt, we shall take the necessary legal action, and that will affect the party in the long run,” he said.
Ogundipe said the Supreme Court judgment affirming Sen. Ahmed Makarfi as Caretaker Chairman did not nullify the leadership of his faction in the zone
