Onyekachi Eze 
A chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Umar Abdullahi has said the statement of the governors of the party on the contentious National Secretaryship is inflammatory and capable of deepening the crisis.
Sunday Telegraph had earlier reported that the PDP governors had in a communiqué at the end of their meeting in Asaba, Delta State over the weekend, told the National Working Committee (NWC) to implement the Court of Appeal judgement that recognised Sunday Ude-Okoye as National Secretary.
But Abdullahi who is a member of the National Executive Committee (NEC), in a statement, noted that the use of communiqué in addressing a conflict within the party is not appropriate.
“The governors are supposed to deploy all internal conflict resolution mechanisms before resorting to the public pronouncement,” he said and called on the governors to discharge their duties in a fatherly manner.
According to him, by putting aside the legal position on the matter and issuing a public statement of such nature, the governors appeared to be exercising authority beyond their constitutional powers.
“Their opinion counts but cannot override the decision of the court of competent jurisdiction and that of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the party which is a statutory organ of the party,” Abdullahi stated.
He noted that the BoT, after its meeting on January 29, resolved to set up a committee headed by former Minister of Special Duties, Tanimu Turaki, SAN, to look into the matter and advise the party appropriately.
“But two days later the governors issued a counter statement in their communiqué recognising Ude Okoye.
“The decision of the governors is not an appropriate step to achieve peace, more so when the appeal is pending in court for determination,” he observed.
He was of the opinion that the PDP governors could have set up their own independent committee to look into the matter, in the best interest of the party.
“In the petition to the security agencies, Senator Anyanwu alleged that a certain group of persons forged the PDP constitution/Electoral Guidelines which they used in misleading the court in delivering judgment against him.
“This is something that should be taken up seriously before anybody can back up the judgement.
“An issue of forgery involving PDP document is a serious criminal offence which the governors are expected to fight against.
“A crime of such magnitude is not what the party should treat with sentiment or levity,” Abdullahi argued.
