The Senator Walid Jibrin-led Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party on Wednesday took over the day-to-day running of the party. The Chairman of the BoT, Jibrin, announced this at a meeting with the party’s workers at the PDP National Headquarters at Wadata Plaza, Wuse, Abuja.
It was gathered that Jibrin cited the conflicting court orders and parallel conventions, which threw up other legal issues as reasons for the action.
He was said to have informed members of staff who attended the meeting that the party’s constitution did not give room for a vacuum in leadership and that the BoT was stepping in because “nobody has taken the BoT to court.”
Jibrin however explained that all the issues surrounding the crisis in the party would soon be resolved because the warring groups were cooperating with the BoT to restore peace.
Addressing the members of staff, the BoT chairman said, “You are aware that this place was sealed by the Nigeria Police, the reason was to keep the secretariat very safe. We in the BoT in line with the constitution of our party are going to be in charge of the assets and the liabilities of the PDP generally.
“It is in that respect that the Inspector-General of Police, having considered the importance of our constitution and having considered the importance of the members of staff of the PDP headquarters here, that this place be opened and not only be opened, but is entrusted into the hands of the BoT.
“Today, the BoT remains the only legal body now in the whole set up and that is why we are here to play our role. We are here to perform our duty according to the PDP constitution, hoping that our problems will soon be resolved.”
On the reconciliatory efforts being made, the BoT chairman said, “We have gone very far to resolve this matter. We are making contacts and consultations and we are not here to blame anybody, but to resolve the problem.
“The PDP will never die, we are only on sabbatical and once the sabbatical is over, we are going to take over our leadership, we are going back in 2019.”
He also informed the workers that he and other BoT members were consulting with the party’s legal team to work out a way to produce a candidate to contest in the Edo State governorship election.
None of the other party leaders who attended the meeting spoke to journalists after the meeting.
However, in a statement issued after the meeting, the Head of PDP’s Publicity Division, Mrs. Chinwe Nnorom, who also attended the meeting, quoted the the chairman of the “defunct” PDP Concerned group, Ibrahim Mantu, as thanking the BoT members and workers for their belief in the party.
She also quoted the BoT Secretary, Ambassador Ojo Maduekwe, as commending members of staff for their cooperation and urged them to remain calm and united irrespective of the current leadership crisis in the party. He assured members of staff that the crisis would be over soon.
-Punch
