PDP crisis: Why I rejected disciplinary committee membership – Bode George

Olabode George, member of the Board of Trustee (BOT) of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) appointed into the newly inaugurated disciplinary committee by the leadership of the party, has declined to serve, saying that the committee were not what the party needs at this time to reconcile its members.

The National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP led by acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, on Tuesday, inaugurated two committees, the reconciliation and disciplinary committees as part of moves to solve the crisis rocking the party.
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But speaking when he appeared on Arise TV Morning Show over the weekend, George declared that he could not serve as a member of the committee under the Chairmanship of Chief Tom Ikimi.

He alleged that the emergence of Atiku Abubakar as the Presidential Candidate of the party in 2023 was responsible for the ongoing crisis, advising leaders of the party to meet and resolve the lingering crisis before putting together the committees.

George further stated that the PDP is now polarized into three camps and the Chairman and secretary of the Disciplinary committee are in one camp, adding that he had already informed the acting Chairman and the National Organising Secretary Umar Bature of his position.

He said, “I can’t serve under him (Ikimi), because when did he join the party? We know within ourselves the various groupings that are dividing the party, that’s what the party should sit down first and resolve.

“I know Tom very well, he met me in this party. The founding fathers handed over to us. So the culture of the party, the do’s and don’ts are with us. So you don’t make me be a member under somebody that I know in terms of hierarchy of the party, and say I should go and serve under him.

“I made that observation to them. I will not serve under Ikimi. I’m being very frank. How much information or depth does he have concerning our party? You don’t do things like that. It’s an observation and I’ve told the Chairman. Just setting up a committee, where will it lead you?”

Speaking further on why he rejected the membership of the committee, he said, “The chairman of that committee is from one group, and the secretary of the committee is from the same group, so am I just to go there and sit and look like some undecided animal?

“We need to do a fundamental review of what went wrong during the last elections, come up with solutions, reunite everybody because a divided house will always remain a defeated house.”