May 03, (THEWILL) – The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has postponed the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting, earlier slated for Thursday, May 5 2022.
A statement by the party’s National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, said it would now meet on May 10.
The NEC meeting was expected to deliberate on the Governor Samuel Ortom-led 37-member zoning committee, which submitted its report to the NEC through the National Working Committee (NWC) over two weeks ago.
The debate over zoning in the party heightened shortly after some members the committee hinted that the committee recommended that the ticket should be thrown open to all contenders, a claim Ortom has since denied, noting that only the NEC can determine whether or not the presidential ticket should be made open to all aspirants or zoned.
The party noted that the rescheduling of the NEC meeting is due to a clash with the local government delegates congress slated for May 5.
“The earlier date clashes with the local government delegates’ election, involving all members of our party. All inconveniences are regretted”, it said.
Meanwhile, the Coalition of United Political parties (CUPP) has warned that PDP candidates might be excluded from the 2023 general elections if the national secretary, Sen. Samuel Anyanwu, is not removed from office over his subsisting expulsion from the party, before his emergence.
Coalition spokesperson, Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, said the alleged involvement of the national secretary in the violence of Imo ad hoc delegates congress, especially those of Ideato North and Ideato South LGAs is shameful, reprehensible and demands disciplinary action from the party.
He warned party leaders that any Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) nomination form bearing the signature of the secretary whose expulsion has not been lifted, may void such forms and give opponents legal grounds to exclude the PDP from the 2023 ballots.
He called on the national chairman, Dr Iyorchia Ayu, to take interest in Imo PDP matters so that Sen. Anyanwu does not destroy the party in the state.
He said “Imo Party leaders reached a consensus that only Statutory delegates should be used for Primary elections in view of the compromise of the Imo Ad Hoc delegates congress with the interference of the National Secretary and theft of the result sheet.
“PDP NEC should immediately reconvene and appoint the Deputy National Secretary as Acting Secretary, to avoid the consequential legal backlash of an expelled member signing official documents of the party.
