Main opposition Peoples Democratic Party, on Tuesday summoned an expanded meeting of its Board of Trustees to deliberate on the way forward after the Appeal Court judgment which nullified the outcome of the party’s November national convention in Ibadan, Oyo State.
The meeting continues by 11 today and is expected to take a position on the way forward.
According to the BOT, the party is ready for reconciliation but not one that will reduce it to an arm of the ruling All Progressives Congress.
The meeting was well attended with the BoT Chairman, Adolphus Wabara; Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State; Seyi Makinde of Oyo; Bode George, Babangida Aliyu, Umar Damagun and others.
The deliberations were still ongoing as at the time of filing this report.
But as the BoT held, the National Caretaker Working Committee of the faction backed by FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, has however insisted on going ahead with its national convention and going ahead with the preparation, saying it had reached an advanced stage.
Addressing a press conference just before the commencement of the meeting of the committee in Abuja on Tuesday, Hon. Abdulrahman Mohammed, Chairman of the faction, said Monday’s court decision had shown that they remained the authentic leadership of the PDP.
Muhammed while addressing newsmen on Tuesday, said the nine appeals entertained by the court of appeal were all in their favour.
While thanking the leaders of the party and the legal team , the Chairman said the National Caretaker Working Committee remains the only national leadership recognised by the law and the party.
“The National Caretaker Working Committee is the only legitimate body that can present a candidate in the build-up to 2027 general elections.”
Muhammed said the rule of law must prevail in the party’s internal affairs, adding that as “we continue to work together day and night towards the conduct of our national convention, we must continue to enlighten our members and supporters to understand the judgment delivered yesterday by the appeal court.
“As we proceed with this national convention, we should wait for the certified copy of the judgment by the court of appeal to prepare ourselves for further defence of the party at the Supreme Court, if any.
Speaking after the inspection of the National Stadium, Velodrome venue of the Convention, Muhammed said the Convention is coming up on the 29th and 30th of March, and they are already looking at the possibility of putting things in place before the date.
He called for unity among party members, urging members of the other faction to join hands with them.
“We call on all members of our party to come so that we can work together for the progress of the party and democracy in Nigeria. We are not claiming that the victory is for an individual or a certain group. It is a victory for all,” he said.
He said members who want to contest election under the PDP should not be afraid, adding, “They thought that we don’t have candidates in the FCT. They were thinking about who is going to sign their signatures or not.
“But the Appeal Court has affirmed this Caretaker Working Committee, and by the time we have our convention, we will have a full-fledged National Working Committee of the party. And of course, if you are going to run in an election under the PDP, rest assured you will not be disqualified.”
