New PDP Elects Officers As 17 State Chairmen Snub Tukur's Emergency Meeting

The crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party has continued to defy all peace moves as the Abubakar Baraje-led faction on Monday appointed new officers into its National Working Committee. The announcement by the National Secretary of the faction, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, came barely 72 hours after the police laid siege to their secretariat in Abuja.

It also coincided with the boycott of a meeting by the Chairman of the Old PDP, Bamanga Tukur, in Abuja on Monday. A total of 17 state chairmen of the party shunned the meeting.

Oyinlola, in a statement in Abuja, said the stakeholders of the New PDP across the country had ratified the election of members of the NWC.

Apart from Baraje, who is the NWC chairman and Dr Sam Sam Jaja, deputy national chairman, Maode Hiliya was named the deputy national secretary; Timi Frank, national youth leader; and Mrs. Binta Koje, national woman leader.

Others are Mallam Nasir Issa, organising secretary; Chukwuemeka Eze, publicity secretary; Aliyu Wadada, financial secretary; and Mallam Tanko Gomna, national treasurer.

The Chairman of the Conference of the PDP State Chairmen, Dr. Emmanuel Agbo, is however insisting that the chairman who were absent are still part of them.

“The decisions we took at the meeting were endorsed by our colleagues, whether present or not. But if you doubt me, I can call and put them on the speaker phone,” he said.

The Presidency has concluded plan to render five of the seven ‘rebel’ governors ineffective in their states by sacking the executives of the party in their states. The states concerned are Kwara, Kano, Jigawa, Sokoto and Niger.

The decision was said to have been reached by the three strategic committees set up by Jonathan to look into the crisis in the party.

Jonathan is of the opinion that since reconciliation had failed between him, the party elders and those they call the ‘rebel’ governors, going out on the offensive is the only way out.
“It is the view of the committees that we needed to use carrot and stick before and it was apparent that that has failed.

“So, what we would do now is the stick approach. The world knows that the governors are fighting us and we need not to pretend anymore that we are not together," said a presidency source.