As the 88th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) is scheduled to hold on Monday, indications have emerged that the party may finally resolve on its earlier plan to change name.
This is just as the party may during the meeting, conclude arrangements to merge with some other political parties towards retrieving power from the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Umaru Ibrahim Tsauri, National Secretary of the party had announced the NEC meeting in a public notice that circulated in both new and old media platforms, weekend.
The meeting, holding on Monday, January 27, 2020, at the NEC Multi Purpose Hall, National Secretariat, Wadata plaza in Abuja, is expected to tackle all the burning issues seriously birthing some challenges for the party, for sometime now.
Apart from changing the name of the party, which sources said has become imperative, the opposition party, it was gathered, may during the meeting, sanction 12 governors including that of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike and
Samuel Ortom of Benue, among others for disobeying the party.
Particularly, it is said that Wike has been making vituperations and unguarded utterances to malign the image of some leaders of the opposition party.
The twelve governors had on January 19, 2020, shunned the emergency meeting that the party held in Abuja.
The governors were Bauchi, Balla Muhammed; Abia, Okezie Ikpeazu; Bayelsa, Seriake Dickson; Akwa Ibom, Udom Emmanuel; Cross River, Ben Ayade; Delta, Ifeanyi Okowa; Enugu Ifeanyi Ugwanyi; Oyo, Seyi Makinde; Taraba, Darius Ishaku; Ebonyi, David Umahi; Benue, Samuel Ortom and Rivers, Nyesom Wike respectively.
Only three governors of Adamawa, Umar Ahmadu Fintiri; Zamfara, Bello muntawari; and Sokoto, Aminu Tambuwal had attended the emergency meeting.
Also, it was gathered that the party will at the scheduled NEC meeting receive and discuss the Supreme Court judgement on Imo, and other states, and further evolve proactive legal measures to reclaim the state.
The PDP is calling for the review of the Supreme Court judgement on Imo governorship election.
Specifically, the leading opposition party had asked the Supreme Court to quickly reverse the verdict.
According to PDP, the judgement by the Supreme Court that led to the sack of Ihedioha as governor is total injustice, further described it as a daylight robbery which, it said, has murdered the nation’s democracy.
It was learnt that since the APC has vowed to deflate capacity of PDP ahead of 2023 presidential election, the party has no choice than to quickly strategise and resist any effort by the ruling APC to shatter it.
“It is true that the meeting on Monday is billed to discuss very serious issues. You know that the party is contemplating of changing it name. There is also the issue of merger with other political parties to form a formidable force and reclaim power from APC.
“There are some governors who in recent time have disregarded the party especially Wike of Rivers who the party leaders accused of making unguarded remarks. You know twelve governors had shunned the last emergency NEC meeting of the party. All these issues the party shall discuss and possibly sanction the governors,” the source said.
At the time of filing this report, there was no official reaction from the National Secretariat of the party
