₦airaland Forum

The crisis rocking the opposition party Peoples
Democratic Party took a new turn on Friday as
its workers further accused the members of
the party’s National Working Committee of
being “too corrupt.”
The angry workers also accused the NWC
members of demanding N1bn bribe from the
Governor of Kogi State, Idris Wada, before
giving him the party’s governorship ticket.
Governorship election will hold in Kogi State in
the last quarter of the year.
The workers also alleged further that the NWC
members demanded and received N750m
bribe from Mr. Ndudi Elumelu with a promise
to give him the PDP governorship ticket in
Delta State early in the year.
Our correspondent learnt that the money was
returned to Elumelu after ex-President
Goodluck Jonathan got wind of the incident.
These and other allegations were made at a
press briefing organised by the workers at
Wadata Plaza headquarters of the PDP in Abuja.
The PUNCH had, in two exclusive stories,
revealed the plan by the NWC to sack 50 per
cent of its workers and also cut the salaries of
those to be retained by the same percentage.
In response, the workers accused members of
the NWC of squandering N12bn in nine months.
The money was said to have been realised
from the sales of nomination forms during the
contest for elective offices in the party in 2014.
The workers said this in their response to the
letter sent to them by the party’s National
Secretary, Prof. Wake Oladipo, on Wednesday.
Oladipo had, in the letter, informed the
workers about the decision of the NWC to cut
cost and that even those to be retained must
also bring a letter of certification from their
state chapters of the party before they could
be absorbed.
Asking how a buoyant party with more than
N12bn could become beggary in just nine
months, the workers said all the members of
the NWC, led by its Acting National Chairman,
Mr. Uche Secondus, must either resign or be
sacked.
They said the political fortunes of the party
under the current leadership of the NWC had
dwindled and that in order to save the party,
Secondus and other NWC members must
resign. The workers, who were led by their
leaders, Ngozi Ezeh (chairman), and Dan Ochu-
Baiye (secretary), said at the press conference
that the members of the NWC were in a
mission to kill the once buoyant and popular
party.
Ochu-Baiye said, “It is no longer news that the
political fortunes of the PDP have continued to
dwindle since the coming on board of the
present NWC in March 2012.
“The party under the current leadership of
Secondus as Acting National Chairman and Prof.
Wale Oladipo as National Secretary has been
systematically and deliberately dismembered
and it is being led to the morgue in preparation
for its final burial.
“Never in the glorious history of our great
party has its fortunes been so hopelessly
mismanaged by an inept and dishonest group
whose sworn mission is to permanently destroy
and liquidate the lofty organisation that
facilitate the current democratic dispensation.
“The current NWC members are only hanging
on because of the obscene and bizarre bazaar
which they have subjected the purse of the
party to.”
The workers alleged that the many atrocities
committed by the NWC members were
responsible for the abysmal performance of
the party during the last general elections.
They said, “We make bold to say that
responsibility for the abysmal outing of the
party should be located directly at the doorstep
of the NWC members due to the following
reasons: Criminal imposition of unpopular
candidates and mind boggling extortion of
aspirants.
“An example here is the yet to be resolved
allegation by Ndudi Godwin Elumelu, who paid
whopping N750m to the NWC to obtain the
governorship ticket of the party in Delta State.
There are many other victims.
“The same scenario is being played out in Kogi
State while Bayelsa State is in the wings. In
Kogi, it is widely alleged that the incumbent
governor was requested to cough out the sum
of N1bn to the same NWC to retain his ticket.”
The workers also accused the NWC of non-
release of campaign funds to state chapters and
embezzlement of proceeds of sales of
nomination forms. They said there was no way
any political party could undergo a high level of
tortuous mismanagement and would still win
elections.
The workers said the NWC members must tell
members of the party why they compelled
delegates to pay the sum of N10, 000 each into
a private account of a company called Morufi
Nigeria Limited.
“We are aware that over N1bn was realised
from this fraudulent exercise,” they added,
calling on the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission to arrest and investigate the NWC
members for the alleged fraud.
They asked if it was the same PDP that was
once led by Dr. Alex Ekwueme, Chief Solomon
Lar, Chief Barnabas Gemade, Chief Audu Ogbeh
and Dr. Amadu Ali.
“Is the party still as formidable as when it was
led by Prince Vincent Eze Ogbulafor and the
erudite Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo? Is it the same
Party that was victoriously managed by Dr.
Haliru Mohammed?” the workers asked.
They also accused the PDP National Publicity
Secretary, Mr. Olisa Metuh, of engaging in anti-
party activities.
They alleged that when Metuh lost in his ward
and polling booth in the November 16, 2013
governorship election in Anambra State, he
openly campaigned for and supported the
candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance
against the PDP.
“He again lost his ward and polling booth in the
state Assembly elections of April 11, 2015,” the
workers said.
But Metuh dismissed workers’ allegations and
described them as baseless.
He said the PDP workers were being sponsored
by the All Progressives Progress.
Metuh said, “Their (the workers) call is baseless,
falsehood and contrived. They are only playing
out the script they were handed by the
opposition, the APC.
“Our party is aware of plots by the APC to
infiltrate our members and create confusion
within the party and that is what these
aggrieved staffers are doing.
“How come it is now that the PDP has become a
thorn in the flesh of the ruling APC and its
government at the centre that these kind of
internal protest are sprouting.
“The real issue is for the Director General of
the Department of State Services, Lawal Daura,
to resign and also for the acting Chairman of
the Independent National Electoral
Commission, Amina Zakari, to quit.”
The Kogi State Governor, Capt Idris Wada, told
one of our correspondents that it was untrue
that members of the NWC of the PDP
demanded a bribe of N1bn from him so that
they would facilitate or give him ticket as the
party’s candidate for the forthcoming election
in the state.
In a response by his spokesperson, Mr. Eddy
Jacob, the governor advised those making such
allegations to find a way to address their
problem and stop dragging his name in their
internal problem.
Jacob said, “The allegation is false. If the
workers of PDP have issues, they should find a
way of addressing them and should not drag
the person of Capt Idris Wada into what is an
internal crisis in the party.
“It is unconceivable that they will make such
allegation against Wada. Wada is prepared to
face the election and would not accept victory
other than through voting process. So I do not
know where they are coming from. I advise
them not to drag Wada’s name into what I think
is an internal party issue”
Elumelu, when contacted over the telephone,
declined to comment on the issue, saying he
would only entertain questions in a face-to-face
discussion.
He said, “I usually don’t talk to the press on
phone; I prefer face-to-face communication. I
picked the call because I always give people
respect by picking their calls.”

handie:
Must PDP blame everything on APC? Very soon Metuh will blame APC for his inability to pass gas saying they(APC) gave his wife the beans she cooked for him

handie:
Source: www.punchng.com/news/pdp-crisis-party-workers-open-fresh-can-of-worms/

Jaideyone:
kai must this phool blame APC for everything? the same way they blamed APC for BH until it became difficult to handle. if Olisah metuh tries to screw his wife and fails to get an erektion I'm sure he'll blame APC. reta*rded clown

maestroferddi:
The Punch always acting out an APC script.

Pathetic journalism...