The intrigues in Abuja over PDP's soul
By Akpo Esajere
Group Political Editor
THE forces against the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Audu Ogbeh, moved for his jugular yesterday.
The anti-Ogbeh camp had planned to appoint a retired senior military officer from Kogi State as sole administrator to run the affairs of the PDP until December 2005 when the party is due to hold an elective national convention.
In a room on the fifth floor of the NICON Hilton yesterday, a presidential aide met with a personality from Anambra State with a scheme to rubbish the now out-of-favour national chairman as corrupt.
In the botched scheme, the Anambra politician was to swear to an affidavit this morning that the governor of Anambra State, Dr. Chris Ngige, bribed Ogbeh with N200 million to get the national chairman's backing on the governor's side.
Ngige is pitted in a long-drawn battle against self-professed godfather of Anambra politics, Chris Ubah.
But the scheme was said to have gone awry when a Benue politician who happened to be in the hotel room while it was being hatched, phoned Ogbeh to alert him.
It was also learnt that Ogbeh used the meeting yesterday to clarify rumours of corrupt enrichment being peddled against him and denied having any overseas savings or fat local bank account.
The PDP national chairman was said to have thrown the challenge to the meeting that his finances be probed.
Ogbeh was said to have defended his December 6 letter to Obasanjo, arguing that it was based on his conviction that a lot of things needed to be sorted out within the polity so as to enable the nation's democracy to flourish.
Having realised that not only Ogbeh was the target, most of the NWC members who were plotting for Ogbeh's ouster changed camp. It was learnt that they were not comfortable with promise of political appointments made to them.
They hurriedly met at Ogbeh's residence yesterday morning and resolved that the NEC meeting be cancelled.
The PDP governors who came to Abuja for the meeting also consulted and resolved that the meeting be cancelled because from all indications, political thugs might cash in on the opportunity to wreak havoc.
Among the NWC members in Ogbeh's house for the meeting were the national secretary, Prince Vincent Ogbulafor; national organising secretary, Labaran Inuwa; national vice chairman, South-South, Godspower Ake and national vice chairman (South East) Nze Fidelis Ozichukwu.
The others included vice chairman (North West) Haliru Mohammed Bello; national treasurer, Umar Kareto Lawan; national women leader, Josephine Anenih and national financial secretary, Toye Olofintuyi.
Also, the national vice chairman (North Central), Magaji Mohammed; national legal adviser, Yohanna Madaki; deputy national chairman (South) Alhaji Shuaib Oyedokun, deputy national chairman (North) Ibrahim Safam national auditor, Ray Nnaji and national publicity secretary, Venatius Ikem were there.
Some of the governors who were at Ogbeh's residence were James Ibori (Delta), Lucky Igbinedion (Edo), Obong Victor Attah (Akwa Ibom) and Rashidi Ladoja (Oyo).
Ogbeh, in a statement cancelling the NEC meeting, cited security concerns.
He said: "The National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) scheduled for today Thursday, the 16th of December, 2004 has been cancelled for security reasons. A new date for the meeting will be announced later. Any inconvenience caused by this cancellation is highly regretted."`
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