PDP Summons Emergency meeting over court ruling

The National Chairman of the Peoples
Democratic Party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, on
Friday summoned an emergency meeting
of the party chieftains in Abuja following
the ruling of an Abuja High Court that
stopped the party's special convention.

Sources at the meeting, which was
hurriedly convened to discuss the
implication of the court's ruling, told
Saturday PUNCH that the leadership of the
party was still confused and yet to arrive
at the next line of action.

A member of the NWC of the party told our
correspondent on condition of anonymity
that the ruling took the party by surprise.

He said, "We did not expect the ruling, not
now that we are facing a lot of challenges
in the party. We are indeed devastated and
I can tell you that the ruling may affect the
fortunes of the party in the future."

He said that if the ruling subsisted, it might
be difficult for the party to field a
candidate for the November governorship
election in Anambra State, because the
Independent National Electoral Commission
might not deal with acting officers of the
party.
The commission deals with
correspondence from the elected officials
of political parties.

National Secretaries and National
Organising Secretaries of political parties
usually sign such nomination papers and
forward them to the commission. But both
offices are occupied in acting capacity in
the PDP.

Reacting to the court ruling, the Acting
National Publicity Secretary of the party,
Mr. Tony Okeke, said the court
pronouncement was being studied by the
leadership of the party.

According to him, PDP lawyers are already
going through the ruling with a view to
deciding on the next line of action.

Okeke, in a telephone conversation with
our correspondent, said, "We are handling
the matter. Our team of lawyers are going
through the ruling and studying it. At the
end of that, we would take a stand on
what to do."

Okeke was not specific on whether the
party would go ahead with the preparation
for
the convention or when the appeal,
which is expected to be filed by the party,
would be filed.

The court ruling, which was delivered by
Justice Suleiman Belgore, had described the
action of the party with the planned
convention scheduled for August 31, as
"recklessness of high degree."

Though the judge refused to stop Tukur
from performing his duties and also did
not nullify the appointment of the acting
members of the National Working
Committee, he ordered the party to refrain
from proceeding with the planned special
convention, where about 20 national
officers of the party are to be elected.

The court also upheld the prayers of the
three plaintiffs: Abba Yale, Yahaya Sule and
Bashir Maigudu, that the plan for the
special convention, even when the case
was still pending, was aimed at foisting a
fait accompli on the court.

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