The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) informed Nyesom Wike, the former governor of Rivers State and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), on Wednesday that no one could place any conditions on the party ahead of its National Convention, which is set for November 15 and 16 in Ibadan, Oyo State.
In a recent media interaction in Abuja, Wike threatened that even if the PDP crisis is currently over, more crises may arise if the party does not acknowledge the zonal congress that elected Chief Dan Orbih as the National Vice Chairman, South-South.
“They said that they are going for their convention in November,” Wike continued, warning that another crisis would arise unless his condition is addressed. I won’t be involved until they fix it. They still have time to fix things, so let’s wait. Take care of the issue before discussing convention. There will be a crisis if the issue is not resolved.
During a media-interaction session, National Publicity Secretary Hon. Debo Ologunagba responded to these threats by stating, “PDP has not, and will not even take condition from anybody, who will follow that constitution anyway.” They have been operating as our South-South Zonal Caretaker Committee.
The party warned its members that the PDP expects them to give it their all and that if they don’t, the party will be forced to invoke its Constitution.
“Loyalty is a personal matter, and in a party like this, we have stated that we demand it,” the party stated. The constitution will take effect if we discover that you fail to provide it. I talked about that earlier.
“We expect our members to be completely loyal. That statement has been released by us. That assertion is effective. That’s where we stand right now.
Ologunagba responded, “If a case is filed, there are processes,” in reference to the Minister’s claim that the party or PDP governors went to court to demand a reversal of the state of emergency imposed on Rivers state but failed to pursue the matter. I practice law. Notices of hearings will be sent out. I’m not in that situation. The governors of the party that brought the case are people I know. The question that has to be raised is whether the Supreme Court has listed it. We will receive a hearing notice if it has been listed. I’m not aware of hearing notification.
He went on to say: “Let me tell you something again. You see, being loud doesn’t mean you’re knowledgeable.
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However, Ologunagba stated that the party is currently concentrating on its planned National Convention in Ibadan.
“We are concentrating on our national convention,” he stated. We let the court’s proceedings proceed if there are cases pending. Furthermore, I don’t think they’re doing a good job of pursuing it. If they are, the legal term for this is “lack of diligent prosecution.” You know what to do if you believe the individual who filed the lawsuit won’t adequately prosecute the case.
“One of the decisions that we took as a party was, we directed the Legal Adviser to take steps to retrieve those positions, because constitutionally they’ve lost them by reason of their defection when there’s no division in our party,” he said, underscoring the party’s stance on the lawmakers who defected to the APC.
Ologunagba went on to discuss party loyalty and the reasons why members shouldn’t leave, saying, “What we will not accept is disloyalty to this party.” We are requesting complete and utter loyalty. We expect our members to do that.
Since this is the only political party where you may fulfill your ambitions and aims, anyone who wishes to quit the party—which we hope they don’t—should stay put because doing so would be a voyage of no discovery.
Naturally, 90% of those who are no longer with us received their training in the PDP. It indicates that there is something special about PDP. So we welcome anyone that wish to come back.
“Some were taken out of anger. Some were taken out of disinformation but now we’re stable, and we’re strong, and we’re pushing towards the National Convention. We are willing to return, and now is the ideal time. However, betrayal is what the party will not tolerate. It will be really amazing. And we insist on it. It will be enforced by us. We will make use of our clause.
“What we did was to set up, in line with the provisions of the party constitution, set up a caretaker committee, Zonal Caretaker Committee for the South-South, headed by Elder Emma Ogidi,” Ologunagba said in reference to the party’s stance on the South-South congresses, adding that the committee already has a functioning caretaker committee.
Regarding rumors that Peter Obi and Goodluck Jonathan might run for president under the PDP in 2027, Ologunagba stated that he doesn’t speculate and that the party has a number of capable governors who are eligible to serve as president.
“This party has a number of highly qualified, exceptionally qualified, and accomplished governors who have the potential to become the nation’s president,” he stated. Ask Jonathan whether he is opposing the question you are posing to me. President Jonathan is not represented by me. Go ask him. Consult him. I have no business speculating. I have no idea why you are posing such query. Consult Obi.
