Checkout Magazine has learnt that another round of crisis may be brewing in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over the outcome of some of its congresses.
Ahead of the November 14 convention in Ibadan where new national officers of the party will be elected, congresses have been held at the ward, local government and geo-political zone levels.
Among these are the would-be delegates to the convention.
But Minister of Feral Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike yesterday queried the Southeast zonal election, saying it should not stand.
He warned that the zonal election in his Southsouth zone, which some leaders of the party have challenged, must not be tampered with.
Chief Dan Orbih from Edo State was elected as the National Vice Chairman (Southsouth) during the congress held at Calabar in March.
Acting Chairman, Umar Damagum, said the results cannot be upheld because the zonal governors did not support that congress.
Wike, who rejected Damagum’s claim, said his insistence on the cancellation of the congress may spark a fresh crisis in the party.
Also, the minister said the Southeast Congress that produced Ali Odefa as National Vice Chairman (Southeast) cannot stand because the court had ruled that he was no longer a party member.
Wike spoke on the challenges before the PDP ahead of its planned November 15 Convention during the August edition of his monthly media chat on television in Abuja.
According to the timetable for the congresses and convention, Damagum, National Secretary Senator Samuel Anyanwu and other members of the National Working Committee (NWC) are expected to hand over the baton on December 8.
Wike, who spoke for the first time after former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and his camp defected from the PDP to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), said the crisis may be over following their exit.
He described the defectors as “buccaneers and vampires,” stressing that his firm resistance against impunity led to the shedding of PDP’s excess baggage.
Noting that Atiku is obsessed with getting the presidential ticket of any party, Wike said he left because there was no room for him to get the PDP flag.
The minister, however, insisted that the outcome of the recent Southsouth Zonal Congress, which produced Orbih as National Vice Chairman, must be accepted to avoid another crisis.
He said: “I said I was going to remain in the PDP, and that was why I said the right thing must be done.
“I will not leave this party, which I have done everything for, for the buccaneers and vampires.
“If I had left the party, the buccaneers and vampires would have remained in PDP to come and collect the ticket.”
To avoid a fresh crisis, Wike said the controversy over the Southsouth and Southeast congresses should be resolved.
