General elections fallout: Plot thickens against Mu’azu-led PDP exco

The NWC will tomorrow hold a similar meeting with its members elected into the House of Representatives.A section of the party is said to be angry with the NWC for leading the party to defeat in the general elections.Inside sources said the outcome of the elections was a ‘disaster’ for PDP which has not only […]

The NWC will tomorrow hold a similar meeting with its members elected into the House of Representatives.
A section of the party is said to be angry with the NWC for leading the party to defeat in the general elections.
Inside sources said the outcome of the elections was a ‘disaster’ for PDP which has not only lost it dominance at the centre but at the state level as well.
The party not only lost the presidency and control of the National Assembly to the opposition All Progressives Congress, but it also lost eight more states to the opposition.
Hawks within the party argued that given the manner PDP was humiliated and disgraced the party chairman Adamu Muazu and his executive members have no reason to remain in office.
However, a source close to the PDP leadership told Daily Trust last night that the leaders still believed they did nothing wrong to warrant their resignation.
“We did our best in the best way we could. This is in spite of the fact that resources which should have been given to the party ended up with TAN (Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria).”
He dismissed those calling for the leadership resignation as “nonentities”.
PDP national publicity secretary, Olisa Metuh told Daily Trust yesterday that the NWC, in a bid to rebuild the party, was calling an emergency meeting of the National Executive council.
The NEC is made up of the President, governors, senators, members of the House of Representatives.
Informed sources in the NWC said the committee was likely to set a date for the meeting tomorrow.
Our correspondents learnt that the NWC members, agitated by recent calls for the dissolution of the committee, have perfected plans to resist any attempt to call for its sack at the meeting.
There have been calls and suggestions from various bodies and chieftains within the PDP for the NWC to be dissolved for failing to deliver the party in the presidential elections.
Some out-going governors as well as governors-elect of the party are among those calling for the removal of the party executives.
Sources said they now prefer to work with a new set of officials due to the inability of the current one to perform.
There are others who are seeking for the removal of only the national chairman saying he alone should be held responsible for the party’s failure in the elections.
Members of the NWC, it was learnt, had planned to resist attempts to dissolve the committee saying they should not be singled out and penalised for what was a collective failure.
Besides, they argued, it would be unconstitutional for anybody to attempt to do that.
A source in the NWC said the members were bent on serving out their terms and would be unwilling to relinquish their positions to please the governors.
PDP national publicity secretary, Olisa Metuh, in a telephone interview yesterday, told Daily Trust that he was not aware of a plot to oust the present crop of PDP national officers.
He said: “I am not aware of it.  I don’t know whether the people saying this are members of our party who have the PDP Constitution.”  
The PDP constitution stipulates that all national, zonal, state, local government and ward officers shall hold office for a term of four years and shall be eligible for re-election for another term and no more.
The present NWC was elected in 2012 and its term would expire in 2016.
A reliable source within the party told our correspondent yesterday that PDP governors-elect are not happy with the President’s defeat at the polls and that they were part of the moves remove officers at the party’s national secretariat, Abuja.
A source close to the governor elect of Rivers State, when contacted could not confirm if his boss was part of those calling for the dissolution of the NWC but promised to find out.
He did not however revert to our correspondent at the time of filing this report.
An aide close to the Ebonyi governor-elect, Dave Umahi, who asked not to be named said he was not aware of the position of his boss on the matter saying he could not confirm as the governor-elect was out of the state.
He said the request for the dissolution of the NWC was part of the suggestions tendered recently by some stakeholders of the party in Abuja.
The source, who contested during the primaries for the ticket of the governorship in Ebonyi further revealed that there was a petition now before the party in Abuja against the NWC members.
The source, however, couldn’t confirm whether the petition is being backed by the governor’s forum and governor elect under the PDP.
An elder of the party from the North-east zone told our correspondent on conditions of anonymity that a crucial meeting of PDP stakeholders would be convened before the May 29 handover date to discuss how the party would be repositioned.
“Nothing is impossible at this time within our party; the PDP. We really need to overhaul the party for future victory at elections. I am aware that there are moves to oust the national officers of our party for their failure to deliver the party in the just concluded general elections but particularly, the March 28, presidential election.
“They have failed in their duty to deliver the party. The party’s governors-elect are also not on a ‘free ride’ as they are not up to the number of APC governors. And mind you, APC has already taken the centre, so the incoming PDP governors are not supposed to be happy, of course. I assure you, something will happen soon,” he said.
Former PDP national chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur on Thursday said the PDP lost the presidential and governorship elections in some states because of lack of internal democracy in the party.
Similarly, a PDP chieftain and Adamawa State governorship aspirant, Dr. Umar Ardo, last week in a statement, called for the resignation of the party’s national and state officers for failing to deliver the party in the last general elections.
Daily Trust learnt that before the elections, the PDP national chairman was accused of not working for President Jonathan’s re-election.
The NWC comprises the offices of the national chairman, deputy national chairman, national secretary, deputy national secretary, national treasurer, national financial secretary, national organising secretary, national publicity secretary, national auditor, national legal adviser, national woman leader and national youth leader.