- Safiu Kehinde
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, has faulted the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) Governors’ Forum over creation of committee and declaration of the PDP’s Deputy National Secretary as the National Secretary.
NPO Reported that the forum had at its 4th meeting of the year held on Monday in Ibadan, Oyo state, created a zoning committee.
They also recommended the party’s Deputy National Secretary’s takeover of the office of the Secretary pending the nomination and ratification of a Substantive Secretary from the South East Zone and NEC respectively at its next meeting.
Reacting to the development during a media chat in Abuja on Friday, Wike held that the forum is not an organ of the party but a pressure group meant to only influence the decision of the National Working Committee (NWC).
He maintained that the PDP Governors’ forum lacked the jurisdiction to create committee.
The former Rivers state governor also said the office of the National Secretary is not based on appointment but by election which can only be done during the National Convention.
“The Governors Forum is not an organ of the party. The Governors’ Forum is a pressure group that can put influence on the National Working Committee.
“You cannot take the function of the National Working Committee and say because you are governor you will now superintend. I always tell people who said okay what about when I was governor? I agree. I said because it happened yesterday does not necessarily mean it will happen today.
“You don’t have the authority to say that somebody should be acting as National Secretary. Who made him National Secretary.
“You don’t have the power to say we have formed a committee of zone. It is not within your prerogative to form any committee. And these are things that people like us will challenge any day anytime.
“And if that happens, people will say why is this man making problems. Now the issue is who is the one laying the foundation for crisis in the party?
“I have told people that look, the best way to go about this is you go under, put your influence, get the result, and then you move on. If there is anything that will remove the National Secretary of the party, it is during the National Convention.
“Assuming it is zoned to the South East, South East can still bring somebody and say okay when we go to the National Convention, this is the person we are going to back. It is not by appointment. It is by election.” Wike said.