2015: PDP state chairmen, Mu’azu meets over primaries

The National Chairman of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, Adamu Mu’azu, and some members of the National Working Committee of the party met with the 37 state chairmen of the party, including the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja on Tuesday and Wednesday on the party’s coming primaries, among other issues.

Top on the agenda of the meeting, according to investigations, was the proliferation of membership cards by some states with the aim of using same for the party’s governorship and other primaries.

The party’s primaries are slated to start in October, but it was learnt that in order not to leave anything to chance, some politicians were desperate to acquire the membership cards towards beating their opponents.

Their plan, according to sources at the meeting, was to use the

cards to get the three statutory delegates from the wards and local government for the expected primaries.

It was also gathered that some members of the party at the national headquarters were selling the cards to the “highest bidders from states” without the knowledge of the members of the NWC.

Apart from Mu’azu, those at the meeting included the Deputy National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus; National Secretary, Prof. Wale Oladipo; the National Auditor, Adewale Adeyanju.

A state chairman of the party, who spoke with some journalists in Abuja on Saturday, said, “We listed Lagos State, Enugu State, Cross Rivers State, Anambra State and five other states, which have been conducting illegal registration in their states without the consent of the states’ secretariats of the party for the purpose of membership drive for the delegate elections and setting up parallel state structures.”

He, however, said Mu’azu had ordered the withdrawal of all ward registers in the state to avoid such illegal registration exercise.

Meanwhile, fresh crisis appears to be brewing in the Peoples Democratic Party in Ekiti State as the group of 12 governorship aspirants in the party have accused the PDP gpvernorship candidate, Mr. Ayo Fayose, of deliberately breaching the reconciliation terms with them.

Two of the aspirants who preferred not to be mentioned told our correspondent that the aggrieved aspirants held a meeting on May 20 where they expressed their worries about the “high-handedness of Fayose and his refusal to carry them along.”

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