29 February 2008
Lagos — The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) state congresses across the country to elect officers for the state chapters of the party took place yesterday amid crisis. Two persons feared killed and more wounded in Nasarawa State.
Also, a Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja High Court adjourned hearing till March 4, in a motion on the party's National Convention.
The motion filed by Mr. Abdullahi Maibirgi and two others, was based on the allegation that due process was not followed in the arrangement for the convention slated for March 8.
The Nasarawa local government congress of the party turned bloody, leading to the death of at least two persons.
THISDAY learnt the crisis which arose in some local government areas across the state was caused by alleged imposition of candidates.
There were violent protests by youths in Lafia, Obi, Akwanga, Awe and Keana. The mayhem reportedly led to death of the two persons, with 11 others sustaining gunshot wounds, while 13 persons were arrested in different parts of the state.
However, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Nasarawa State Command, Richard Akoji, who spoke with journalists, said the police were yet to be intimated on the number of lives lost.
Following the crisis, the state PDP suspended the congress in three most affected local governments, Lafia, Obi and Keana.
In Abuja, the PDP members who went to court faulted the convention plan on the ground that it was only the party's National Executive Council (NEC) that has the constitutional right to convene a national convention and not the National Working Committee (NWC).
When the matter came up for mention, neither the defendants nor their counsel were present in court.
Mr. Festus Keyamo, applicants' counsel, had told the court that the respondents were not duly served as it was not easy to serve each of them.
He prayed the court to allow a substituted service as it would be easier to serve them through the party's national secretariat.
Keyamo also prayed the court to grant an injunction to stop the convention since the matter was already before the court.
Justice Ishaku Bello in his ruling ordered that the defendants be served through the PDP national secretariat since it was a contact point for them.
He then adjourned the case to March 4 to allow for service and ordered the parties to be present in court to enable them guide the court on its decision.
In Oyo State, the congress merely returned all its sitting state executives committee apparently in defiance of an order of the State High Court, which had restrained the party from conducting any state congress yesterday.
Justice Ladiran Akintola sitting at an Ibadan High Court had on Wednesday granted an interim order restraining the party from holding the congress pending the determination of a motion on notice before it.
The interim order followed an application by three aggrieved chieftains of the party, Messrs Saka Rashidi, Ajao Jide and Adeaga Olusegun Adetunji before the court protesting alleged imposition of candidates by the strongman of Ibadan politics, Chief Lamidi Adedibu.
However, the congress which took place under a tight security at the Lekan Salami Stadium, Adamasingba Ibadan was attended by all elected political officers in the state at the local, state and federal levels.
The majority of other chieftains in attendance were loyalists of Adedibu.
The leader of a five-member National Convention/Congress monitoring team which coordinated the exercise, Alhaji Salihu Zubair, claimed ignorance of any court order on the congress, insisting that he was not aware of any court injunction restraining the party from going ahead with it.
The state congress in Lagos was dogged by controversy following the claim of the existence of a court injunction barring its conduct by a faction loyal to the party's gubernatorial candidate in the April 2007 election, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro.
However, the Chief Olabode George faction proceeded with the exercise and elected Hon. Setionji Koshoedo as Chairman.
Others elected includeed Hon. Tunde Salau, Deputy Chairman and Capt. Tunji Shelle, Secretary. But reports from Abuja said the out-going National Chairman of PDP, Senator Ahmadu Ali, and Deputy National Chairman (South), George, have been warned against conducting the party congresses in the state in view of a court order.
A notice of consequences of disobedience to court order issued yesterday by an Ikeja High Court also included as defendants in the pending case, the acting party chairman, Chief Bayo Williams, Mr. Tunde Daramola, Secretary, Mr. Muyiwa Collins and Chief Benard Eze.
In Imo State, the crisis rocking the state chapter deepened as some members petitioned the National Chairman, claiming that they had been schemed out of the party.
The group, under the aegis of "PDP in Government Caucus", said its members were being hounded for serving under Gov. Ikedi Ohakim's Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) administration.
The spokesman of the group and Special Adviser to the Governor on Political Matters, Mr. Jasper Ndubuaku, told journalists in Owerri on Wednesday that an unauthorised delegates list had been sent to Abuja, ahead of next month's convention.
This, he said, was in spite of the fact that the congress did not hold in the state to elect the state's delegates.
In Anambra State, the PDP successfully held its state congress where it elected by consensus 29 officers to run its state executive. That was in spite of an Ihiala High Court's order to the contrary obtained by Chief Ken Emeakayi, a member of a faction of the party led by its former interim state chairman, Mr. Tony Nwoye. The faction however failed to hold its own congress citing the said order.
But at the congress conducted by the party at White View Hotels, Awka, were most stakeholders including the leader of the party in the state, Dr. Andy Uba, Senators and Joy Emodi and Ikechukwu Obiorah, members of both the state House of Assembly and House of Representatives from the state, as well as other stalwarts and representatives of the National Congress Monitoring Committee of the party and INEC. Barr. Bright Nebedum from Orumba South Council area of the state was elected consensus chairman.
In Taraba State, the internal crisis within the state chapter of PDP was displayed publicly at the venue of the state congress in Jalingo as the former state governor, Reverend Jolly Nyame, and his political godson, Mr. Danladi Baido, boycotted the congress which took place at the Afolayan square.
One of the prominent politicians in the state, Senator Anthony Mazo, representing Taraba North constituency where Nyame and Baido hail from, said the absence of the former governor Nyame was inconsequential.
He said there was no way two leaders could pilot the party affairs in the state. Manzo reaffirmed that the state Governor, Danbaba Danfulani Suntai, is now the leader in control of the party in the state.
The party chairman, Alhaji Abdumumuni Vaki, who was re-elected said those absent from the state congress might have their personal problems for doing so and that it is not compulsory that everybody must attend the congress.
Confusion reigned in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, over the conduct of the conduct of State and Local Government congresses in contrast to the agreement reached by prominent Party Leaders including the Vice President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, the State Governor, Chief Timipre Sylva and the NDDC Managing Director, Chief Timi Alaibe that the existing executive of the party from the ward to local government and state level be retained for another two years.
The conduct of the congress followed the refusal of the national leadership of the party to recognise the agreement reached by the enlarged caucus of the state chapter of the party held last week.
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