Following the defeat of the party in the Bayelsa and Kogi state gubernatorial elections, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees (BoT) has called for the setting up of a committee to determine the roles played by its key members.
The chairman of the board, Senator Walid Jibrin, who disclosed this after a meeting of the board in Abuja on Thursday night, observed that reports had been rife of the possible ignoble actions of some members of the party leading to its defeat in the polls
Jibrin spoke of accusations and counter-accusations among PDP members over the elections.
He recalled that a similar committee headed by former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu had been set up in the wake of the 2015 election loss.
Speaking on the outcome of the BoT meeting, Jibrin said: “We advised that we will not jump the gun, we have to make thorough research before we come into conclusion of who did what and suggest remedies.
“Therefore, we recommended to the NWC that a very serious investigation must take place. And therefore we recommend that an interim committee has to be set up similar to the one that was set up after the 2015 election under the chairmanship of former deputy Senate Chairman, Ike Ekweremadu and myself.
That time, I was the secretary of the BoT and the secretary of the committee which came up with a very useful recommendation. “We came openly to blame certain people.”
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The BoT chairman said his board was concerned about the negative direction of Nigerian politics, which manifested in the Bayelsa and Kogi elections.
He said the BoT reviewed the events and condemned the wanton rigging, violence, killings and manipulation that followed the exercises.
He added: “We reviewed the situation and condemned in totality the issue of rigging, killings, vote snatching that characterised these elections and we advised that the party on this various arson that took place including the death of the chair lady PDP in Kogi has to stop.
“We also viewed the accusations and counter-accusation among our members on the behaviour of some of our members both in Kogi and Bayelsa, especially in Bayelsa. “
The BoT boss said the board has set up committees to take charge of its activities and has asked them to swing into action immediately particularly the committee on peace and conflict resolution to deal with disagreements in states like Edo, Kano and Lagos.
He further said: “We have instructed the various committees to go into action especially the committee on peace and conflict that we noted that there are so many complaints going on within the party in Edo, Kano, Lagos etc.
“After the committee goes into action in finding out the true situation, we will now recommend and look at the matter solemnly before the new year. We will ensure that the party becomes stronger and stronger. We call on our followers and members to remain resolute in the face of these elections,” the PDP BoT stated.