Why PDP govs want Mu’azu, NWC members out

FOLLOWING the trouncing of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, at the last general elections of March 28 and April 11, things are no longer rosy between PDP governors and national officers of the party.By Henry UmoruApart from losing the presidency, which it has held for 16 years, the PDP  lost its majority in the National Assembly and will be the leading opposition in the next dispensation having won 46 senatorial seats out of109 while the All Progressives Congress (APC) cornered 60. The same thing applied in the House of Representatives. From a height of 21 state governors, the party has only 13 slots now. It lost in its traditional states of Adamawa, Plateau; Niger, Kaduna, Benue, Bauchi and Jigawa.Consequently, governors elected on the platform of the PDP want the National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Adamu Muazu and other members of the National Working Committee, NWC to take the path of honour and resign immediately.Path ofhonourThis was the outcome of the marathon meeting of 19 PDP governors held between Tuesday night and early hours of Wednesday at the Akwa Ibom Governor’s Lodge, Asokoro, Abuja where the governors resolved that it has become imperative for the national officers to go and pave the  way for a new leadership.PDP leaders’ post-election gatheringThe meeting, which was the first of its kind since the PDP lost the presidency after 16 years of leadership to the Presidential Candidate of the APC, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari, retd, was a post-mortem on the election and to discuss the way forward for the party, especially the move to heal inflicted wounds, re-strategise  and reposition the party.It was gathered that  Mu’azu; the National Legal Adviser, Victor Kwon and all the 19 governors were at the closed-door meeting.A source at the meeting toldVanguardthat Mu’azu and his team were later asked to excuse the governors.Soon after they left, sources said the governors agreed that the party would need fresh persons and against that backdrop, Muazu and his team must pave the way for the fresh blood that would be required to reposition the party.NWC in marathon meetingFILE PHOTO: MEETING: From the left, Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State; Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State; Governor Jonah Jang of Plateu State; Governor Sulivan Chime of Enugu State; GovernorLiyel Imokeh of Cross River State; Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State; Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State and the Kogi State Governor, Captain Idris Wada departing after a closed-door meeting between PDP Governors and President Goodluck Jonathan at the State House, Abuja. Photo by Abayomi AdeshidaFollowing the decision of the governors, who want to take total control of the party, members of the NWC rushed into a marathon meeting even though they were said to be on two weeks break.To prevent staff and others from knowing about the emergency meeting, they held it in the office of the National Chairman rather than at the traditional NWC hall with the National Secretary, Professor Wale Oladipo; National Woman leader, Chief Kema Chikwe; National Financial Secretary, Elder Bolaji Anani; National Treasurer, Bala Buhari; National Legal Adviser, Barrister Victor Kwon; National Auditor, Wole Adeyanju; Deputy National Secretary, Onwe Solomon Onwe and National Youth leader, Abdullahi Maibasira in attendance.As the meeting of the NWC was going on at Wadata Plaza, Governor Henry Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State, who dressed casually in Tee- shirt, walked in.Vanguardgathered that Dickson who went straight to the office of the National Chairman, was said to havedelivered the message of President Jonathan on the need for the leadership to resign.NWC members fight back, call for public hearingAs a way of fighting back, members of the NWC are poised for a show down with the governors as they have vowed not to resign. They are calling for a public hearing into who caused the collapse of PDP between the governors and NWC. The leadership of the party is insisting that at the public hearing, members, stakeholders and leaders of the party would listen to views from everyone to  ascertain who created problems that led to the poor performance of the party.According to the PDP leadership whose tenure ends next year, the best option is to allow a smooth transition, cautioning the governors that resignation as an option would not work.Govs arm-twisted us to impose candidatesThey alleged that the governors arm twisted them to get whatever they wanted as that was the cause of the problem and not them as members of NWC.According to members of the NWC, apart from Delta and Ebonyi states, all the PDP governors got the candidates they wanted as they pushed unpopular candidates.However, to present a united front some leaders of the party have waded in to break truce between the governors and the NWC.