Despite the peace moves to reform the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the PDP Governors’ Forum, last Tuesday night walked the National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, out of their meeting, stating that they cannot work with him as the chairman of the party.
The meeting, which took place at the Akwa Ibom State Governor’s Lodge in Asokoro Abuja, with almost all the PDP governors in attendance, asked Mu’azu to excuse them as he was not invited.
According to a source, who spoke with THISDAY, the meeting had barely started at about 4.30p.m. when Mu’azu came in, but his presence caused some stir as some of the governors started to protest against his presence.
It was at this stage that some of the PDP governors started asking: “Who invited him?” to his hearing and the national chairman was quietly ask to leave the meeting, which he did.
Mu’azu left the venue of the meeting with his aides brushing aside reporters’ questions who wanted to know why he left the meeting in a hurry.
One of the PDP governors who spoke with THISDAY simply said: “We asked him to excuse us from the meeting because he was not invited. He is the national chairman and we are governors and he is not a governor.”
The governor said it was the belief of all PDP governors that Mu’azu contributed to the party losing the presidential, National Assembly and governorship elections.
The PDP governors at the meeting were accusing Mu’azu of playing a double role during the general election, to the extent that he refused to attack the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari.
It was for this reason that the PDP governors are calling on him to resign as the national chairman of the party, saying: “A general who loses a battle is expected to resign. Mu’azu led PDP to a disastrous election. The best option is for him to resign to enable the party to be reformed.
The source said the PDP governors in clear terms, asked Mu’azu to resign as they cannot work with him.
But in a swift reaction, THISDAY gathered that the National Working Committee (NWC) felt that the treatment meted out on Mu’azu was an insult to the party and would address a world press conference next Friday on the issue.
The NWC members, it was gathered, wanted to seek the view of President Goodluck Jonathan before making their views public.
Some NWC members are accusing the PDP governors who are mostly outgoing governors of plotting to hijack the NWC for their political interest.
The PDP NWC are also accusing the governors of masterminding the PDP crisis and eventual defeat and that it would be unfair for the PDP governors to turn around and start finding faults for PDP woeful outting at the general election.
Moreover, the NWC members who spoke to journalists said the PDP governors were just a portion of the stakeholders and an organ of the party and therefore have no constitutional powers to ask Mu’azu or any NWC member to resign as they are duly elected.
According to an NWC member who spoke off record, “Governor Godswill Akpabio called meeting of the governors with the national chairman in attendance with his deputy and legal adviser.
“ After the meeting, when the party leaders left, the governors resolved to ask NWC to resign.
“The outgoing governor wants to hijack the party before new governors come in.
“The NWC is set to fight back and not resigning, and it wants a public hearing on who caused the collapse of PDP governors or NWC. They are insisting that governors who arm twisted them to get whatever they wanted caused the problem not them.”
The NWC member further said: “Except Ebonyi State, all the PDP governors got the candidates they wanted as they presented unpopular candidates. The fight will open the way for elected ones to leave for the All Progressives Congress (APC) and that is the agenda of the governors.
“NWC tenure ends next year. The best option is to allow a smooth transition. NWC may propose public hearing and debate on who caused the collapse of the PDP.”
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