JUST IN: NEC will decide Damagum’s fate – PDP Govs

Governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) rose from their meeting in Abuja with a position that the National Executive Committee (NEC) will decide the contentious National Chairmanship position of the party.

Answering questions from journalists after the closed-door meeting that lasted for hours, Chairman of the forum and Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Muhammed, said the issues in the party were being resolved.

He said, “We are looking forward to doing everything within the constitutional provision of the party. So we are not here to discuss about change of leadership.”

The governors also alleged plot by some persons trying to factionalise the party and “take one faction to go and join a coalition”, saying they would not allow it.

The Bauchi governor said, “NEC will take decisions on issues, not the Governors, I know the Governors normally take the leadership position, but we have an acting person leading the party and NEC will decide weather it is time to fill the vacancy looking at the legal implications of doing that.

“Knowing that they are so many lingering litigations in court and of course we don’t want to disparage ourselves, because we know that they are some marauders hiding somewhere trying to factionalize our party and take one faction to go and do coalition, we are not going to allow that as governors.

“We are very responsible and we are very credible and we will make sure we resolve all the issues and unify the party for maximum efficiency and success in the next election.”

The governor also noted that even though the public is free to permutate and discuss “NEC will decide on some of these issues.

“There is no any contending forces, who is NEC, NEC is the PDP Governors Forum and other stakeholders, so we are just a portion of NEC, we cannot talk on behalf of NEC until we get there.”

Meanwhile, in the communique after the meeting, read to journalists, the governors called on the National Working Committee of the Party to “set in motion the machinery to conduct credible congresses in all the States where tenures of Party officers have expired.

“The meeting noted that there are no factions in the PDP and everybody is working together.”