2023 polls: PDP reads riot act, demands list of ‘anti-party members’ Chairmen

By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja

The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has demanded from Chairmen of its State chapters the list of members “who did anti-party and who did not do anti-party,” during the 2023 general elections.
The PDP National Working Committee, NWC, members, at a meeting with state chairmen on Tuesday, demanded from the chairmen reports of the conduct of the 2023 elections in their states.
The National Organising Secretary (NOS) Captain Umar Bature (retd.), while addressing the meeting, noted with regrets that a lot of the states have not submitted their reports.
He maintained that the party’s leadership need those reports to be compiled for the next NEC meeting.
The immediate past Rivers State governor. Barrister Nyesom Wike who is presently Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) under the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration and other four other governors of the party, publicly worked against the PDP presidential candidate Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
The National Organising Secretary (NOS) Captain Umar Bature (retd.) noted that a lot of the states have not submitted their reports, adding, “we need those reports to be compiled for the next NEC meeting.”
The PDP has not held it National Executive Committee (NEC) since May 2022.
Bature who addressed the chairmen before the meeting went into close door session, called on them to “tell us who did anti-party and who did not do anti-party,” stating that “based on that, NEC will take decision. Write to us and tel us what transpired, no matter what happened.”
He disclosed that the national secretariat had been inundated with calls for suspension of members for anti-party activities.
The NOS added that the meeting was called to review the tenure of about 26 state chapters, and recalled that most of the current executives in the states were elected four years ago, where congress were conducted on a staggered basis due to the COVID-19 issues.
According to him, “We have about four to five states that their tenure has expired from the ward to the state, that is Edo, Bayelsa, Gombe and Rivers State; there are others which are staggered.
“So in order not to create vacuum or go into crisis that is why we have called this meeting.
“Also we have issues and crisis in these states; we decided to call you for this meeting to interact with you on the way forward pending when the NEC will seat and decide on all these,” he said.
Bature however warned the Chairmen not to replace any vacancy that occurred in the state executive, either by death or resignation, and said that “If this meeting decides that everybody will go as caretaker (or) leave the EXCO the way they are.
“Submit the list to us as it is; if there are 15 people that have joined another party, submit the remaining 10, don’t replace them.”