Taming impunity in Enugu PDP

For over two weeks, forces loyal to the governor have consistently suppressed the rumours that the Chairman of the State PDP and Governor Chime’s right-hand-man, Engr. Vita Abba had been flown overseas on a medical emergency.  He was one of those whom the Governor had allegedly promised to hand over power to, but only to […]

For over two weeks, forces loyal to the governor have consistently suppressed the rumours that the Chairman of the State PDP and Governor Chime’s right-hand-man, Engr. Vita Abba had been flown overseas on a medical emergency.  He was one of those whom the Governor had allegedly promised to hand over power to, but only to eventually favour Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi. The other person hitherto regarded as heir apparent was the “chicken impeachment” veteran and Speaker of the House of Assembly, Hon. Eugene Odoh.
Enugu was therefore jolted when the State Governor, Sullivan Chime and the State Secretary of the PDP, Steve Oruruo, hurriedly convened a meeting of the State Executive Council, SEC, of the party to announce the sudden resignation of Engr. Vita and the purported appointment of the Managing Director of the Enugu State Housing Development Corporation, Mr, Ikeje Asogwa, as his replacement.
Typical of Enugu in the last few years, due process was thrown overboard, while impunity and lawlessness regained momentum. First, the Deputy Chairman of the PDP in Enugu, Elder David Aja was totally sidetracked. He was not even informed about the meeting. His own words: “Someone informed me of a meeting of the State Executive Council holding behind my office and I decided to go there and ascertain what was happening and on getting there, I saw Governor Sullivan Chime and some members of the party already seated. On inquiry, I was informed that the state Secretary of the party, Steve Oruruo convened the meeting”.
 “I told them that what they were doing was null and void since the meeting was not convened by me. They rejected my submission claiming that they have the right under section 47 (6) of the PDP constitution to convene the meeting.” Although “Vita Abba’s letter” hinges his resignation on the desire to run for a House of Representatives seat, Enugu people know that such is the last thing on the man’s mind now. instead of telling the people the truth about Vita Abba’s health and whereabouts, the cabal tried to use section 47(5) of the PDP Constitution to perpetrate an illegality. The Section only permits a resignation to take immediate effect on the grounds of running for an election. If not, it takes 30 days to take effect.
Furthermore, although Section 47(6), which the Enugu cabal relied on in appointing Asogwa provides that “Where a vacancy occurs in any of the offices of the Party, the Executive Committee at the appropriate level shall appoint another person from the area or zone where the officer originated from, pending the conduct of election to fill the vacancy”, the meeting to appoint the said replacement ought to comply with Section 35(1)  and 33(3)(b) of the party Constitution.
Section 35(1) provides that “There shall be a National Chairman who shall be the Chief Executive of the party, and his functions shall be to: (a) Summon and preside over the meetings of the National Convention, the National Executive Committee, the National Caucus and the National Working Committee of the party. Section 35(3)(b) provides that the Deputy Chairman shall “Deputize for the National Chairman in the latter’s absence”.  This applies with equal force to the States.
Also, Section 24(1)(a) of the PDP Constitution makes it clear that the State Chairman of the party is the Chairman of the SEC. The Governor, Deputy Governor, and Secretary cannot therefore convene a SEC meeting. Section 45 of the PDP Constitution spells out the process for resignation and transmutation of powers in the event of such. According to Section 45(1), “If a National Officer of the Party is removed or resigns from office, he shall immediately hand over to the National Secretary all records, files and other properties of the Party in his or her possession”.  Subsection 2 clearly states: “In the case of the National Chairman, he shall hand over to the Deputy National Chairman who shall, without prejudice to Section 45 (6) of this Constitution, act as the National Chairman pending the election of a Replacement”. Very importantly, Subsection 4 provides that “This provision shall apply mutatis mutandis to other levels of the Party structure”.
As a lawyer, Chime out to know that Section 47(6) cannot be taken in isolation of other relevant provisions of the PDP Constitution. For instance, how can Section 47(6) be activated unless there is a validly convened meeting of the SEC? Can we put something on nothing and expect it to stand? Little wonder the decision of the NWC to shun Governor Chime and Ikeje at the Wadata Plaza has received national applause, while NWC’s nullification of Asogwa’s appointment has thrown Enugu into a frenzy of celebration. The NWC also directed the Deputy Chairman of the Enugu chapter to immediately take over the affairs of the party in Enugu. he was given two weeks to superintend over the election of new Chairman in accordance with the provisions of the PDP constitution.
Aja’s sin is that he hails from Aninri and also not one of his yes-men. Add the recent “chicken impeachment”, alleged detention of Mrs. Clara Chime, and dethronement of HRH Igwe Hayford Agana and you would begin to understand the reign of impunity in the state. I therefore give kudos to the Adamu Muazu-led NWC of the PDP for being firm. The NWC’s decision on Enugu is indeed a triumph for rule of law and due process as party faithful will regain hope that they can get justice within the system. Let’s also hope that lessons are learnt.
Okereke wrote in from Enugu