The National Caucus of the Peoples Democratic Party has announced that the selection of the party’s national chairman will not be on the agenda at the upcoming National Executive Committee meeting scheduled for today, Thursday.
During a press briefing following Wednesday’s caucus meeting in Abuja, the PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, made this clear.
According to Ologunagba, the topic was not up for discussion at the caucus meeting, hence it was not included in the NEC meeting’s agenda.
However, he mentioned that the PDP national chairmanship position might be presented at a yet-to-be-scheduled committee meeting.
“The caucus did not consider that issue of leadership because we considered that at this time there are so many issues that are involved about the leadership. So, that issue was referred to the next NEC meeting.
“So, what we are taking to Thursday’s NEC is not the issue of the leadership of the party, but the caucus has considered the issues that the National Working Committee (NWC) brought before it,” Ologunagba stated.
He implied that the current acting chairman, Umar Damagum, would retain his position until the subsequent NEC meeting following Thursday’s session.
Ologunagba emphasized the importance of further consultations on the matter, advising that the party should prioritize unity.
“We as a party must be united, and those issues are not such as to divide us, knowing fully well that we are going to follow our constitution in line with our succession plan, having regard to the circumstances we find ourselves.
“We recognise the situation as it happened in terms of where we are with the court processes, and we want to be sure that we are taking every action will engender unity and will be in consonance with our constitution,” he explained.
Ologunagba also reported that the caucus discussed local government, ward, and state congresses in preparation for their commencement, expected between June and August.
The caucus approved the NWC’s proposal to reestablish the party’s disciplinary and reconciliation standing committees to address internal matters.
“The caucus also extended the life of the party’s Constitution Review Committee for us to accommodate new suggestions to amend the constitution of the party.
“Caucus also considered various ways of fundraising for the party through membership drive, investments, and other issues that the NWC will work on and, of course, come back to NEC for approval.
“Finally, the caucus commended the party, particularly the NWC, for rebranding of the party’s logo, which, of course, is inclusive and more dynamic for more membership drives for the party,” he added.
In addition, Ologunagba informed journalists that the NWC had addressed the Rivers State Caretaker Committee list during the PDP governors’ meeting, leading to a decision to seek a political resolution.
Following this, the PDP Governors’ Forum instructed the NWC to reexamine the matter.
The News Agency of Nigeria reported that prominent figures such as former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, PDP Governors Forum Chairman Gov. Bala Mohammed, Gov. Sim Fubura, Board of Trustees Chairman Adulphus Wabara, and ex-Governor Sule Lamido attended the caucus meeting.
