PDP: Govs’ Camp Labels Wike-backed Convention ‘Jamboree
*Heads to S’Court
The governors-backed National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party, led by Tanimu Turaki (SAN), has dismissed the convention of the faction backed by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, as a “jamboree,” describing it as illegitimate and in contempt of ongoing legal proceedings.
The governors-backed NWC, in a statement issued on Monday by its National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, announced that it had approached the Supreme Court to seek a final resolution of the party’s leadership dispute.
Ememobong stated, “With the series of disturbing activities occurring in succession within the last 48 hours, genuine members of the Peoples Democratic Party across the country have expressed their concerns and are asking what the future holds for the party and, by extension, our country’s democracy.
“To them, and other fair-minded, democracy-loving Nigerians, we reassure that we have taken this battle to the Supreme Court for the determination of all the issues relating to the leadership of our party, particularly as it relates to what constitutes an internal affair.
“With this appeal and the relevant concomitant applications filed and served on all the parties involved, we are hopeful that, sooner rather than later, the apex court will, in the interest of democracy, expeditiously hear and adjudicate on this matter.
“For the avoidance of doubt, we state that the pre-Easter jamboree of APC sympathisers and members of ‘Wike’s Autocratic Party’, which they mischievously tagged a PDP convention, was held in contempt of the Court of Appeal, where parties had entered appearances and agreed with the court on the way to proceed with the matter, only to turn around and undertake acts capable of destroying the res.”
The Turaki camp disclosed that the Wike group had been served with the appeal processes at the Supreme Court, along with other legal actions challenging the conduct of the convention.
It stated, “The validity of that gathering is now a matter before the court, which we will diligently follow to its conclusion. Additionally, the Federal High Court, Abuja, per Justice Abdulmalik, whom we had earlier applied to for recusal on the basis of her alleged bias against us, delivered judgment this morning in favour of the Wike-backed APC apologists, granting them access to the PDP secretariat and directing security agencies to offer them protection while in occupation of the said secretariat.
“In response, we have directed our lawyers to immediately file an appeal and other relevant applications against this judgment.
“On the whole, we must admit what is already public knowledge—these are very trying times for us, the PDP, and all opposition parties in Nigeria. These crises are clearly orchestrated by the Bola Tinubu-led APC government, which has shown morbid fear of the existence of alternative political platforms and is determined to foist a one-party state on the country.
“This fear is fuelled by their knowledge of the impending rejection Nigerians are poised to deliver due to their abysmal performance in core governance issues such as security, the economy, and social welfare.”
The group called on PDP members and Nigerians to remain hopeful that the Supreme Court would uphold multi-party democracy.
“The Supreme Court now has the historic opportunity to uphold and defend the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and its earlier decisions on the jurisdiction of courts in the internal affairs of political parties when it delivers its final judgment,” it added.
After nearly three years of internal crisis, the PDP split into rival factions.
The governors’ bloc, supported by Seyi Makinde (Oyo) and Bala Mohammed, held a convention in Ibadan on November 16, where Turaki (SAN) and others were elected into the National Working Committee, while the Wike-aligned faction later set up a caretaker committee led by Abdulrahman Mohammed and Samuel Anyanwu.
The Court of Appeal upheld a ruling that invalidated the Ibadan convention, although another panel urged reconciliation.
Despite earlier reconciliation efforts, disagreements stalled progress, leading the party to seek the Supreme Court’s intervention to stop a Wike-backed convention held on Sunday.
However, without any court order, the Wike-backed faction proceeded to elect Abdulrahman Mohammed as National Chairman, Senator Samuel Anyanwu as National Secretary, and 17 others as members of the National Working Committee.
