PDP in make or mar NEC meeting tomorrow

Barely six days away from the contentious May 21 national convention, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is set for a make or mar National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting tomorrow.
Indications that the meeting will be a showdown emerged as the warring factions within the party are yet to shift ground over the zoning of the national chairmanship seat, amendment of the constitution, postponement of the convention and the exit of Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff as national chairman by the end of this month.
While the North-east zone has already endorsed the candidature of Sheriff to emerge chairman at the convention, the PDP Concerned Stakeholders Forum, led by Prof. Jerry Gana, has set up a 57 member steering committee to oversee the affairs of the party pending the conduct of the national convention.
The group who maintains that Sheriff must vacate office by May 21, called for the postponement of the national convention, and faulted the zoning of the national chairmanship position to the North-east and opposed the amendment of the party’s constitution.
This comes as national secretariat of the party was accused of printing only one form for the national chairmanship position which was zoned to the North east.
The party was forced to postpone the NEC meeting which was scheduled to hold last Thursday, following the crisis that erupted over the zoning of national chairmanship position.


Majority of the Board of Trustees (BoT) members, had in protest, refused to attend the NEC meeting which adopted the zoning of the offices. They also protested the failure to hold the statutory BoT meeting which precedes the NEC meeting.
Although, it unprecedentedly rescheduled the meeting for May 16 of this month in Gombe State, the party, has however moved the meeting back to Abuja tomorrow (Tuesday).
Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff had at the 70th NEC meeting disclosed that the party would hold another NEC to look into the now contentious amendment of the party’s constitution.
However, a statement signed by the national secretary, Prof. Wale Oladipo said the meeting will now hold Tuesday, May 17, 2016 at the PDP national secretariat in Abuja.
The statement further noted that the Board of Trustees (BOT) meeting still holds on Monday, May 16, 2016 at the PDP national secretariat as earlier scheduled.
It advised BOT and NEC members to attend these meetings unfailingly and on time as crucial party matters shall be discussed.
But a key member of the Concerned Stakeholders and former governor of Old Gongola State, Wilberforce Juta, who decried the failure of a BoT meeting to hold before the last NEC meeting said “our members in the BoT will attend the meeting tomorrow (today).”