PDP Convention: Group Seeks Ouster of  NWC Members

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
A group within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the PDP Reform Group, made up of mainly youths, has demanded that all the members of the National Working Committee (NWC) whose tenure expired on March 21, 2016 be barred from re-contesting during the May 21 national convention of the party.

The aggrieved group led by Ariyo Dare Atoye, made the demand during a courtesy visit to the PDP press corps yesterday in Abuja.

While speaking on the arrangements for the convention, Atoye said: “It is a shame that after mismanaging the post defeat era of the party and squandering the left over resources, some persons want to return.

“This is a big shame. It is a collective feeling of all our members nationwide that none of them should come back. We consequently demand that every member of the old NWC should give account of their stewardship, individually and collectively.”

He said the group would mount campaign to ensure that the finances of the party in the last two years are investigated but devoid of witch-hunt.
He lamented the return of the old order and jettisoning of the Senator Ike Ekweremadu zoning formula which they said has made PDP unattractive to Nigerians.

He also lamented the lack of internal party democracy in the party, decrying “the allocation of offices to  certain zones for targeted individuals under the guise of pleasing some stakeholders.

“Why is the party always afraid of internal democracy? Why is it that our party cannot allow open and fair competitive process for the best and popular persons to emerge from the zones?”

According to the group, “It is uncharitable to concede the funding of the party to the national, some governors and a few stakeholders calling on the party to put in place a dues-friendly system that will allow all members pay as at when due.”