The tsunami of opposition against the embattled PDP chairman, Ali Modu-Sheriff took another dramatic twist Thursday as a former Minister of Information, Jerry Gana, led a group of other leading members to announce the takeover of the party from him.
Present at the meeting in Abuja, were a former Deputy President of the Senate, Ibrahim Mantu, a former Minister of Education, Tunde Adeniran, and media mogul, Raymond Dokpesi.
The group ” Concerned Stakeholders” rejected the decision of the party’s National Executive Committee, NEC, to extend the tenure of Sheriff to May 21, 2016.
But the spokesman of the PDP chairman, Inuwa Bwala, dismissed the group’s stunt saying ” They are just out to cause mischief”
Bwala also said that they were come up with different gimmicks to divert attention from the effects of what they did in the past leading to the squandering of the fortunes of the party
The Gana group said as far they were concerned, the tenure of the National Working Committee, NWC, expired on March 24, 2016.
The group said a national convention should have been held to either elect a new NWC or approve the composition of a caretaker committee.
“The purported extension of the tenure of the Chairman and other members of the national working committee by the Party by the NEC was an illegality and therefore untenable and contrary to the provisions of our party Constitution which gives such powers ONLY to the National Convention of the Party,” the group said.
They also said in line with that position “all actions purportedly taken by the said NEC and the National Working Committee, including the Ward, Local Government, State Congresses and the planned National Convention of the Party slated for the 21st of May 2016 in Port Harcourt, Rivers State constitute a nullity and are of no effect”.
They equally said the zoning arrangement as announced by the chairman of the “purported” Zoning Committee, the governor of Akwa-Ibom State, Emmanuel Udom was unacceptable, because it ran contrary to the PDP’s “established principles and practice”, which, they said, had sustained the party in continuous unity for the last 18 years.
“Deriving from all the above and in order to stop further slide into unconstitutional confusion and widespread disenchantment of party members nationwide, We the founding fathers, stakeholders and leaders of the party from all the 6 Geopolitical zones hereby announce a 21 member steering committee to manage the affairs of the PDP, and work intimately with our respected members of BOT who are the conscience of the party till such a time that a proper, lawfully organized National Convention of the party, where a new authentic leadership of the party will be duly elected in accordance to the provisions of our party constitution and guidelines,” they said.
They added that the new steering committee will soon embark on a nationwide tour, to address and resolve all issues and areas of conflict in every state of the federation.
The group said the steering committee will immediately put in place a National Reconciliation Committee to reconcile all previously aggrieved party members.
They equally condemned what they called an attempt by the “illegal” NWC of the party to amend the constitution of the PDP in order to “muzzle and control the BOT and thereby subject it (BOT) to the “villains and caprices” of the NWC.
Bwala said “Unfortunately, among such groups are self-styled elders and stakeholders led by Professor Jerry Gana. I have seen him sweating on television, playing with language but at the end of the day saying nothing.
“I want to specifically say we kept sealed lips about some of the activities of this man believing that we could still find a rendezvous at which we could work together for the progress of the PDP. I must say, and there are witnesses that this is one character that attempts to play a role in every government since the time of the military,” Mr. Bwala said.