|
New Page 20
PDP splits on Obasanjo, Ogbeh
‘Anenih’s suspension illegal’
NDIDI OKAFOR,
Abuja
THE
rift between President Olusegun Obasanjo and the National Chairman of the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Audu Ogbeh may still linger as the party’s
19-member National Working Committee (NWC) was sharply divided at its meeting
yesterday.
The brisk meeting of the NWC which took
place in Ogbeh’s office located at the national secretariat of the PDP in Abuja
ended with the members singing discordant political tunes.
The stiring development came as the party
declared as "ultra vires, null and void" the suspension of Chief Tony Anenih by
its Edo State chapter.
Chief Ogbeh had on December 6, written to
President Obasanjo requesting that he takes urgent steps to end the crisis in
Anambra state.
In his reply to the letter, President
Obasanjo chided Ogbeh for "playing hide and seek games" and for taking what he
considered a hypocritical position regarding the situation in Anambra State.
The war of words between Obasanjo and
Ogbeh pitched the members of NWC against one another at yesterday’s NWC meeting.
Daily Champion
gathered that the closed-doors meeting ended in disagreement as Ogbeh is said to
have refused to retract.
Source said "the meeting ended up in
disagreement. There is a division among the members and Ogbeh is standing by the
letter he wrote. He admitted writing the letter at the meeting."
Ogbeh is said to have admitted writing the
letter and reiterated that he did so in good faith.
However, it was gathered that over half of
the NWC membership are against Ogbeh who has refused to budge.
But a caucus meeting to be presided over
by President Olusegun Obasanjo with his deputy, Atiku Abubakar attending, is
slated for Aso Rock tonight.
Our source said the "only item on the
agenda of the caucus is Ogbeh’s letter to Obasanjo".
On the problem in its Edo chapter, PDP
overruled Gov. Igbinedion’s faction which had suspended Anenih, the acting
chairman of the party’s Board of Trustees.
The PDP faction in the state led by
Governor Igbinedion two days ago announced the suspension of Anenih, Chief
Samuel Ogbemudia, state chairman Solomon Aguele and others from Edo state PDP
for sanctioning the relocation of the party’s secretariat.
Declaring the action illegal, the NWC of
the party, in a one-page statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary,
Venatius A. Ikem, condemned the action.
The NWC said it only "recognizes the Edo
state executive committee headed by Chief Solomon Aguele since there has never
been a congress dissolving it."
It further explained that it was beyond
the powers of state executives to suspend or discipline officers of Anenih’s
calibre.
"Disciplinary measures against national
officers such as chairman of the Board of Trustees is clearly beyond the powers
of state executive committee. Pronouncements of suspensions or expulsions of
such officers are valid if they are carried out by the national executive
committee or the national convention. The said suspension is therefore ultra
vires, null and void".
It said that it was within the powers of
the Edo state party executive to relocate the party’s secretariat warning the
Gov. Igbinedion faction to toe party line or face the music.
"The NWC wishes to warn all party members
working at cross purposes with the recognized party organs in Edo state to
desist from such actions or fact the appropriate disciplinary action," Ikem
warned.
|
