“If the Caucus and NEC meetings had held as scheduled, a vote of no confidence would have been passed on him. The shift was necessary to allow tempers calm down.“
By John Alechenu
The last is yet to be heard about the crisis rocking the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
It was gathered in Abuja, on Monday, that the discovery of a plot by a section of the party’s leadership to sack the National Chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, was largely responsible for the postponement of the Caucus and National Executive Committee meetings of the Party earlier scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday.
Ayu’s loyalists within the party’s National Working Committee and the Board of Trustees were said to have advised against convening the meetings amidst what one of the loyalists who spoke in confidence described as “a hostile environment.”
A usually reliable top-ranking source within the party hierarchy, who spoke to VANGUARD in confidence, explained that despite platitudes “tension is still very high.”
The source said, “As far as I know, Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, does not have any problem with Atiku, Ayu has not been transparent in handling party affairs since he took over.
“And the role he played during the selection of the presidential running mate won him a lot of enemies.
“There are a lot of issues in our state chapters which he ought to have handled differently.
“ If the Caucus and NEC meetings had held as scheduled, a vote of no confidence would have been passed on him. The shift was necessary to allow tempers calm down. ““ If the Caucus and NEC meetings had held as scheduled, a vote of no confidence would have been passed on him. The shift was necessary to allow tempers calm down. “
Another source also said the shift was necessary to allow reconciliation efforts pull through before party members are brought together under the same roof.
However, another party source said, “There is no problem, we had to postpone the meetings because our Presidential candidate is not around.
This is the first NEC meeting we are holding since our primaries and we need the attendance of all leaders.
“We had our BoT meeting last week and we thought we could follow it up with national Caucus and NEC meeting. But we discovered there are so many things we need to handle first before doing so.
“Besides, our candidate and others who are critical stakeholders indicate that they are unavailable on the fixed date.”
Earlier, the National Secretary of the PDP, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, in a notice announcing the postponement said a new date will be announced in due course.
He regretted all inconvenience the shift may have caused members.
Anyanwu wrote, “This is to inform all members of the PDP National Caucus and National Executive Committee that the meetings of the two bodies earlier scheduled for Wednesday, August 10 and Thursday, August 11, 2022, respectively, have been postponed.“
He said the postponement is due to “unforeseen circumstances.“
Atiku’s choice of Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa is also said to have ruffled some feathers.
Recall, the party has been enmeshed in a crisis after its presidential primaries which former Vice President Atiku Abubakar won. Supporters of the first runner-up, Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, have been up in arms over what they say is the unfair treatment meted out to him before, during and after the primaries.
•Text, except headline, courtesy of Vanguard newspaper
