Key stakeholders in the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) are are caught in a dilemma over the next
line of action on the party’s National Chairman,
Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, and his team in the National
Working Committee (NWC).
Two separate meetings of the party’s national
leaders and elders, called by President Goodluck
Jonathan during the week, failed to take a definite
position on the fate of the elected party officials.
While some of the stakeholders are calling for the
sack of Mu’azu and his subordinates, others have
argued that they be allowed to complete their
tenure, which expires in March, 2016.
The disagreement is coming just as a prominent
chieftain of the party has fingered the President-
Elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari and the national
leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC),
Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as the ruling party’s
“nemesis”.
Our correspondent’s investigation revealed at the
weekend that all the party’s outgoing governors
have insisted on outright dissolution of the NWC, to
pave way for a new set of executives.
The governors, investigation further revealed, are
being backed by a leader of the party in the
Southwest zone, Chief Olabode George and a few
others. A source privy to the meetings said
President Jonathan has chosen to remain neutral.
Our source also said the President had directed the
stakeholders and contending parties to embark on
further consultations, with a view to finding
amicable solution to the raging crisis.
The anti Mu’azu forces, particularly Governor Ayo
Fayose of Ekiti State, had argued that retaining the
present crop of the party’s executive members
would be counter-productive.
According to them, rather than mobilising support
for the President in the last election, the Chairman
and his team members were preoccupied with
pecuniary pursuits to the detriment of the party.
Allusions were made to instances where the party
officials shared money among themselves when
they were supposed to disburse same for campaign
purposes.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa
Metuh, had at a recent media briefing, stated that
members of the NWC collected N30 million each.
Metuh however, explained that the money was for
the backlog of allowances and medical expenses of
the NWC members.
Apparently, the money was part of the proceeds
of sales of nomination forms for the various
elective positions in the last general elections.
He had insisted that funds were not made available
to the party officials for the presidential campaign,
saying the funds were directly placed under the
control of the Presidential Campaign Council.
Buttressing Metuh’s position, a high ranking
member of the party’s top decision making organ
said the NWC should not be blamed for the
crushing defeat the PDP suffered at the poll.