How Nwodo emerged new PDP chairman •To be presented June 17 •Group drags him, PDP to court

Written by Taiwo Adisa, Idowu Samuel, Leon Usigbe and Lanre Adewole
Wednesday, 09 June 2010

THE Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Monday night ratified the choice of the former national secretary of the party , Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, as the party’s national chairman.

Sources at the BoT meeting held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, told the Nigerian Tribune that President Goodluck Jonathan presented the name of the new chairman-designate to the meeting, attended by BoT chairman, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, and Vice-President Namadi Sambo, among other leaders of the party.

It was gathered that President Jonathan briefed the meeting about the decision to nominate Nwodo as the replacement for Prince Vincent Ogbulafor, who resigned last month.

It was gathered that President Jonathan briefed the BoT members on the need to support Nwodo as the new PDP chairman. The president was said to have added that checks on Nwodo had revealed that he was a committed member of the party.

Though no questions were raised about Nwodo’s defection from the party before his return in 2009, it was gathered that a debate soon ensued on the title of the chairman-designate.

A source at the meeting said that former Senate President, Senator Ken Nnamani, raised the issue of the nomenclature of what to call the new chairman.

He was said to have said that the new chairman should be called acting chairman because he was coming to complete the tenure of another person.

Nnamani was said to have insisted that in line with the constitution of the party, the new chairman should not immediately assume the position but be addressed as acting chairman.

He was said to have argued that since the national convention of the party had not been held, whoever was appointed the chairman should be addressed as acting chairman.

But the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Dimeji Bankole, was said to have countered Nnamani by saying that the rules of the party did not recognise acting chairman and that whenever a chairman resigned or was removed, the replacement automatically assumed the title of chairman.

It was gathered that Bankole’s argument won over a lot of members of the BoT, who agreed that Nwodo should be ratified as the party’s chairman and presented to the National Executive Committee (NEC).

It was also gathered that the NEC meeting postponed on Monday would now be held on June 17.

However, Nwodo’s endorsement by the BOT is coming against the background of an attempt by a group of party members to stop his nomination in court.

The group, PDP Stability Forum (PSF), had filed a case in an Abuja high court, seeking a perpetual injunction against Nwodo’s consideration as a possible candidate for the post of PDP national chairman.

The convener of the forum, Ikenga Ugochinyere, while addressing a news conference in Abuja, on Tuesday, explained the decision of the group to drag the PDP and the former party scribe to court.

According to him, Dr Nwodo was not eligible to be considered for the position because the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) had not concluded the case of $214 million national identity card fraud in which he was allegedly involved.

He said if the former national chairman, Prince Ogbulafor, was forced out of office on account of his prosecution over a fraud case, there was no justification for the party to consider Nwodo, who similarly had an ongoing case in court.

The group also rejected the attempt to grant a waiver to Nwodo in the forthcoming NEC meeting, as it added that it was against the spirit and letter of the constitution of the party, saying that “for anyone to hold a membership, he or she must hold a membership of over 18 months.”

In the motion on notice of the suit, numbered FHC/ABJ/396/201, filed by the group on Tuesday, Mr Ugochinyere was named as the plaintiff, while the defendants/respondents were listed as the PDP, NEC, Dr Nwodo and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as first, second and third defendants/respondents respectively.