Police Withdraw from PDP Headquarters, BoT to Meet Staff Today

Party can’t field candidates for polls, says PMP

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
The Nigerian Police has withdrawn its men from the national headquarters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
As an indication that peace and understanding are gradually returning to the once-ridden opposition party, security men who had been deployed since  the last one week, ysterday dismantled the blockade mounted on the entry points to the PDP secretariat.

Meanwhile, as a sign of its leading role in the ongoing reconciliation efforts, the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT), yesterday gave notice that it would meet with the staff of the party today.
The Secretary of the BoT, Chief Ojo Maduekwe, who was said to have given the notice of the meeting with staff, however did  not provide details of the agenda of the meeting.

The meeting with party staff is seen as a prelude to the formal resumption of office by the caretaker committee headed by former Governor of Kaduna State, Senator Ahmed Makafi and Secretary, Senator Ben Obi.

Maduekwe who drove into the secretariat at about noon to signal the formal re-opening of the party for business met with some few senior staff of the party before passing his message on the scheduled meeting for today.

Following the instructions by the BoT,  the Head of Publicity Division, PDP, Mrs. Xhinwe Nnorom, issued a statement stating that the party had re-opened its secretariat.
The statement read: Please be informed that the PDP National Secretariat re- opens today being Tuesday, May 31, 2016 for members of establishment staff only.

“The BoT Secretary, Maduekwe, will be addressing members of staff at 1p.m. today in the NEC Hall.”
Meanwhile, the current state of affairs in the PDP has been attacked by a former party man and leader of the yet-to-be registered organisation, People’s Mega Party (PMP), Chief Perry Opara.

Opara said yesterday that by appointing the caretaker committee headed by former Governor of Kaduna State, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, the PDP may have lost its qualification to field candidate in an election until the situation is rectified.
Speaking while formally unveiling the national headquarters of PMP in Abuja, Opara said there are present moves by  mega-rich politicians from the PDP to hijack the party.

According to Opara, after the initial outing of the party in Abuja about three ago, some rich politicians have been approaching the party leaders with tempting offers to take over the party.
He declared that the party is not for sale to anyone as the vision behind the formation of the party is to have a platform that young Nigerians can use to contest elective offices in future.
The PMP leader also declared that some members of the PDP; Labour Party (LP) and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) had already defected to the new party.

“Five days ago, a group of PDP members came here to say they are defecting to the PMP.PDP Professionals Forum have also declare for the PMP while some aggrieved members of the PDP stakeholders forum in Abuja also defected to the PMP.”
Opara stressed that one of the major attractions of the new party was its policy of bottom-top approach that gives ownership of the party to the people at the lowest level.