PDP elections: S-West, S-East kick off campaign

…S-West still burdened by ongoing legal cases

LAGOS— Campaign for the eight vacancies in the National Working Committee, NWC, of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has kicked off in earnest with a number of the ousted officers mobilising key stakeholders in their zones to win back their seats.

While the South-East party stakeholders are understood to be pushing for the return of its officers that were forced to resign, the South-West caucus, it was learnt, was still split on the issue and the process of filling the key offices allocated to the zone.

A meeting of South-West stakeholders to determine how to share the three top positions of National Vice Chairman, National Secretary and National Auditor, it was learnt, has been fixed for next week.

The meeting and the plan, however, could be derailed by the ongoing legal issues arising from the last zonal congress that are still in court.

The South-East, Vanguard learnt, is also to meet next week on the same issues on the position of National Publicity Secretary and National Women’s Leader that are shared to the zone, now vacant.

Metuh may return

Yesterday, it was, however, learnt that Chief Olisa Metuh could be riding his way back to office upon the recommendation of his performance in that office between March 2012 and his resignation last Thursday.

It was also learnt that the influential South-East caucus in the National Assembly and elements from the zone appreciative of Chief Metuh’s work as the party’s chief publicist were already drumming for his return with strategic meetings being held with others concerned.

However, a definitive pronouncement on an automatic return for Metuh, it was learnt, would be made next week at a South-East caucus of the PDP being arranged for Enugu.

S-West still burdened by legal cases

The South-West, it was learnt, is however, being burdened by the two issues of zoning and the court action instigated by disaffected party members over the original election of last year.

The former National Vice Chairman, Engr. Segun Oni, sacked by the court upon the process instigated by disaffected party members over the conduct of the zonal congress, it was learnt, was yet to decide whether to seek for a fresh term.

“We are still waiting on key stakeholders on how the zoning would be decided,” a key associate of the former governor told Vanguard yesterday.

He was hopeful that Oni would make a categorical decision on the issue before the stakeholders’ meeting.

However, another party official from one of the South-West states was pessimistic about the zone fielding replacements for the empty positions given what he alluded to the ongoing cases in the courts against the conduct of last year’s convention and congresses.

“Unless the cases are withdrawn, the prospects of the South-West meeting the deadlines for the election of the officers would be very difficult,” the party official said yesterday on the condition of anonymity.

Eight of the members of the NWC members and their deputies resigned last Thursday following the recommendation of a committee constituted by President Goodluck Jonathan. The recommendation was partly on the basis of the report of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC which affirmed that the process for the election of the national officers violated the guidelines of the party.

The national convention to elect a new set of national officers has been slated for July 20.