Zoning: PDP NEC May Sanction Ugwuanyi C’ttee

Zoning: PDP NEC May Sanction Ugwuanyi C’ttee

POLITICS DIGEST- The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) may sanction the party’s Zoning Committee for making public its recommendations before briefing party leaders.

The 48-member committee headed by Enugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, last Thursday, announced the zoning of the National Chairmanship position in the scheduled October 30 and 31 Convention to the north.

The committee in the communiqué read by Governor Ugwuanyi explained that its recommendation “is in line with the constitution of the party on zoning and rotation of party and national offices in the interest of justice, equity and fairness.”

It, however, said that the recommendation is subject to the ratification of the NEC. A party source said the decision of the committee to make the recommendations public before turning it to the party that set up it, did not go down well with some NEC members. “This is to pitch the party against Nigerians should the be NEC reject the recommendations. The proper thing to do is to send the report to NEC that set up the committee and not to address the press. “With the reactions of Nigerians since the recommendations were made public, it will amount to setting up the party against the people should NEC reject the recommendations. That will  be difficult.

“What members are saying is to invoke section 57 of the PDP constitution on members of the committee for breaching section 58(1) (b), because what the Zoning Committee members did amounts to bringing the party into disrepute,” the source said.

Section 58(1)(b) of the PDP constitution 2017 considers as an offence, an action of a member(s) that is “likely to bring the party into disrepute, hatred or contempt.” Meanwhile, PDP National Working Committee (NWC) met on Monday ahead of Thursday’s NEC meeting but kept mum.

The meeting, which lasted over two hours, according to party sources, was for members to adopt a common position on the recommendations of the Zoning Committee.

The source stated that the recommendations, if adopted by NEC will indirectly prevent any member of the present NWC from seeking re-election, which he said, is contrary to the resolution of NEC at its 92 meeting.

The motion to bar NWC members from seeking reelection was defeated at the NEC after the former Minister of Special Duties Tanimu Kabiru Turaki (SAN) warned of likely legal implications.

The source told New Telegraph that “members of the NWC are not comfortable with the recommendations of the Zoning Committee. This is contrary to section 47 of the PDP constitution.

“It is the ineligible right of every NWC member who is in first tenure, to seek reelection in the same office if he so wishes.

“Now what the (Governor Ifeanyi) Ugwuanyi committee did is to deny them such rights, which is not good.”