Identify members involved in anti-party activities, PDP tells state chairmen

The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, on Tuesday, directed the chairmen of the 36 state chapters and the Federal Capital Territory to identify their members involved in anti-party activities during the 2023 general elections.

The PDP National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature, during a meeting of the National Working Committee with state chairmen in Abuja on Tuesday, said such erring members should be identified so they could be sanctioned.

Many members of the party, shortly after the 2023 presidential election, requested sanctions against certain members due to their alleged involvement in anti-party activities.

Over the past 11 months, the National Working Committee of the party has shown reluctance to take action on this matter.

However, speaking on Tuesday, Bature said, “After the elections, we expected the state chapters to give us their reports, that is the post-2023 election reports. A lot of the states have not submitted their reports and we need those reports to be compiled for the next NEC meeting.

“A lot of agitations are coming from party members, suspend this, suspend that, you are the ones that are in charge of those states. You are to tell us who was involved in anti-party activities and who did not; and based on that, the NEC will take a decision. Write to us and tell us what transpired, no matter what happened.”

Bature also said the Tuesday meeting was to review the tenure of 26 state chairmen, whose tenures had expired.

He stated, “We are here to review the tenure of about 26 state chairmen, in terms of ward, local government and state. If you recall most of the current executives in the states were elected four years ago, where congresses were conducted on a staggered basis due to the COVID-19 issues.

“We have about four or five states that their tenures have expired from the ward to the state, that is Edo, Bayelsa, Gombe and Rivers states. There are others that are staggered. So, in order not to create a vacuum or go into a crisis that is why we have called this meeting.

“Also, we have issues and a crisis in these states; so, we decided to call you for this meeting to interact with you on the way forward pending when the NEC will sit and decide on all these.”

PDP National Organising Secretary charged the state chairmen to,

in the event of vacancies resulting from death or resignation, refrain from appointing replacements.