NewsPDP Probes Alleged Leakage Of National Zoning Committee Report

PDP Probes Alleged Leakage Of National Zoning Committee Report

May 05, (THEWILL) – The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has commenced probe into an alleged leakage of the party’s zoning committee report.

THEWILL reports that the 35-member National Zoning Committee of the party was chaired by Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom.

Other members of the Committee were: Attahiru Bafarawa, Prof Jerry Gana, Olabode Ibiyinka George, Ahmed Markarfi, Abubakar Kawu Baraje, Wale Oladipupo and Boni Haruna, Jonah David Jang, Adamu Wasiri, Prof ABC Nwosu, Senator Abdul Ningi, Mao Ohuabuwa, Sanusi Daggashi, Tom Ikimi, Ayodele Fayose, Ibrahim Dankwambo, Sule Lamido, among others.

The PDP inaugurated the Committee to recommend in advisory the zoning of its Presidential ticket.

The National Zoning Committee Report was submitted to Dr Iyorchia Ayu led PDP NEC and is slated for debate on May 10 when a final decision on the zoning issue is expected to be adopted.

However, less than 36 hours after the submission of the report, some top officials of the party were said to have been influenced by external forces, leading to the leak of the report.

National Chairman of the party, Dr Iyorchia Ayu, was said to have personally felt thoroughly bitter and embarrassed over the speed at which the Zoning Report found its way out of the Wadata House and circulated to some persons considered as destabilising agents working against the 2023 agenda of the party.

Sources at the National Secretariat of PDP said that a 7-man probe panel is to be put in place at any moment to expeditiously deal with the matter considered deliberate sabotage.

An on the spot investigation by the National Executive Committee (NEC) was said to have revealed a shocking step being made to run the party into trouble in its planned May 28 Presidential primary election, to nominate the party’s flag bearer in the coming presidential election.

To worsen the situation, the leaked report was used at the Federal High Court in Abuja, for a suit seeking to stop the planned Presidential primary on the ground that the zoning was not done in favour of the South-East geo-political zone.

Specifically, the suit was instituted by serving Commissioner for Trade and Investments in Abia State, Cosmos Ndukwe.

The National Zoning Committee Report was one of the key documents attached to Ndukwe’s ex-parte application, filed alongside his originating summons in the suit against the presidential primary.

Ndukwe, a former Deputy Speaker in the Abia State House of Assembly had filed an ex parte application seeking to stop the presidential primary of the PDP on account of zoning.

In doing so, he attached the communiqué of the Governor Ortom Committee whose recommendations are yet to be ratified by the PDP NEC, but scheduled for May 10.

PDP NEC, it was gathered, concluded that exhibiting the Zoning Committee Report in the open court is a confirmation that an interest higher than Ndukwe is behind the alleged plot to scuttle PDP presidential primary.

A source in the National Working Committee NWC of the PDP said, the party is considering probing a presidential aspirant and others fingered in the leakage of the document and sanctioning them appropriately in line with its constitution.

Two of the presidential aspirants were said to have been dropped after a screening exercise last Friday and Ndukwe is suspected to be one of them, even though the Senator David Mark-led Committee did not mention names of the aspirants that were screened out.

A careful look at the leaked document confirmed that the Ortom Committee had actually recommended that the presidential contest of the PDP should be thrown open for all aspirants, irrespective of their zones of origin.

Attempts by our correspondent to reach the PDP national Chairman, Dr Iyorchia Ayu, for comments were unsuccessful.

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