ABUJA: The internal crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party PDP intensified on Sunday night as the National Executive Committee NEC of the party dissolved the Abdulrahman Mohammed-led National Working Committee NWC which tenure expires this Tuesday, December 9.
It however appointed him again to head its Caretaker National Working Committee NWC with 60 days to conduct congresses in States with caretaker committees and also conduct a national convention.
The decision which was ratified on Sunday night in Abuja during the 104th NEC meeting, followed a strong recommendation from the Board of Trustees BoT after its meeting in Abuja earlier in the day.
Earlier, Mohammed said the NWC had already petitioned the Police and other security agencies following the botched 103rd NEC meeting of the party which he alleged was disrupted by the Kabiru Tanimu Turaki faction, saying the security agencies are already acting on the petition.
BoT Chairman, Senator Mao Ohuabunwa, said NEC must act swiftly to avert a vacuum in the party’s leadership.
“Since nature abhors a vacuum, it has become imperative for the party to take necessary steps to avoid any lacuna,” he declared, noting that the caretaker structure would also be replicated in “affected states and the South East zone.”
Caretaker C’ttee
NEC named Abdulrahaman Mohammed as chairman while Senator Sam Anyanwu was appointed Secretary. Others are Umar Bature (National Organizing Secretary); and, Kamaldeen Ajibade SAN (National Legal Adviser). Other members of the committee are. Dr Kyari Grema, Senator Sandy Onor, Senator Nwaogu, Deji Doherty, Bisi Kolawole, Ibrahim Bala Aboki and others. They were immediately sworn in by a legal practitioner.
State chairmen, represented by the Imo PDP Chairman, Augustine Nwachukwu, commended the NWC for “trying to put the party on firm footing before the conduct of a national convention.”
Responding on behalf of the committee, Mohammed said he would work alongside members of the committee to consult widely with stakeholders in the discharge of their mandate.
He said all issues will be resolved before the national convention and all the state chapters will participate in the exercise.
The National Assembly caucus, represented by Leader of the Caucus, Kingsley Chinda, also reaffirmed its confidence in the Abdulrahman Mohammed leadership. “Let the rule of law which is entrenched in the PDP have its way,” he said.
FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, intensified his confrontation with the opposing faction, declaring that Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde, Bauchi State governor, Bala Mohammed and others were “on their way out of the PDP.”
“We won’t let those we accepted into the PDP to kill the party. I joined the party in 1998. Bala Mohammed came after the doctrine of necessity that brought in President Jonathan in 2010. Makinde came from SDP and then you want to push away those of us you met here. We won’t allow it. But they have no choice again, because they are on their way out. They have no choice”, he declared.
Wike criticized Governor Mohammed’s stewardship as chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum, saying he “should be ashamed” that under his watch the party lost several governors to the APC, contrasting it with his own period as governor “when more people including governors came into the party.”
The former Rivers State governor also accused the rival faction of serially disobeying court judgments while attempting to secure legitimacy through questionable legal manoeuvres.
“You went to a State High Court to sue INEC, asking that the convention must take place, and you got an ex parte order to override judgments of the Federal High Court. How do you disobey two final judgments and still claim leadership?” he queried.
He added that the same group said it “had the convention without obeying the court, and now you are back asking a State High Court to recognize you. If INEC already recognizes you, what exactly are you going to court for?”
Warning that such actions threaten the party’s survival, Wike declared: “We must not allow our party to die. Leadership requires commitment and honesty, not propaganda. If we don’t respect our own laws, how do we earn respect from Nigerians?”
Meanwhile, the factional Board of Trustees aligned with Wike unveiled a sweeping internal restructuring agenda aimed at restoring stability to the party.
Speaking at the opening session of the faction’s BoT meeting at Life Camp, Abuja, Senator Ohuabunwa said the group was committed to “rebuilding the PDP from within and restoring public confidence in its internal processes.”
He revealed that the faction was already “making meaningful progress in reorganizing affected states, including the constitution of credible caretaker committees,” adding that the reforms were meant to “prepare the ground for transparent congresses and subsequent convention process.”
Insisting that the PDP must reclaim its identity as a disciplined political institution, Ohuabunwa said: “These reforms are necessary to build trust, strengthen internal structures and ensure that our party remains a model of fairness and inclusiveness.”
He affirmed total support for the Abdulrahman Mohammed-led NWC, saying, “We are going to work with this NWC, we are going to encourage them, we are going to support them to ensure that the right things are done, and that things will be done in line with the law and the guidance of our great party.”
Calling the BoT the “conscience of the party” and its “moral compass,” he stressed: “We must stand and face the truth, and ensure that this party stands to be counted at all times in our obedience to the laws of the Federation, the laws of our party, and the guidelines of the Independent National Electoral Commission.”
He urged members to act with unity, saying “In this defining moment, therefore, we must rise above sentiments and act with unity of all.”
The NEC also instituted caretaker committees in Bauchi, Lagos, Ekiti, Enugu, Ebonyi, Anambra, Edo Bayelsa and the South East zonal chapter.
It equally dissolved the working committees in Oyo, Yobe, Zamfara and Kano.
Several party heavyweights attended the meeting, including factional National Secretary Senator Samuel Anyanwu; former Abia Governor Okezie Ikpeazu; former deputy governors Dr Philip Salawu, Ayo Fayose and Dr Samuel Ortom; among other chieftains.
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