The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has insisted that its National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting will still take place on June 30, despite opposition from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
At a press briefing held in Abuja on Sunday, the PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, noted that INEC’s Acting Secretary, Halilu Aminu, had no right to interfere with the party’s internal activities.
He questioned Aminu’s motive in trying to define the purpose of the NEC meeting without any clear legal authority.
Since its loss in the 2015 general elections, the PDP has faced several internal issues, including leadership struggles, high-profile defections, and unresolved disagreements from party congresses in various regions.
A major point of conflict recently has been the fight over the position of National Secretary. Samuel Anyanwu and Sunday Udeh-Okoye have both laid claim to the role, with Anyanwu enjoying the backing of FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike. This dispute has repeatedly delayed important meetings such as the NEC.
In an effort to find a middle ground, the party appointed Setonji Koshoedo as the acting National Secretary. However, a fact-finding team led by Taraba State Governor Kefas Agbu later confirmed that INEC still recognizes Anyanwu as the legitimate secretary.
Despite this, the PDP scheduled its 100th NEC meeting for June 30, following a decision made during its 99th NEC session. The party also formally informed INEC about the planned meeting through a letter signed by Acting National Chairman Umar Damagum. But INEC rejected the notice, stating it must be co-signed by both the party chairman and national secretary.
Responding, Ologunagba argued that INEC had no role in overseeing regular internal meetings such as those of the NEC or National Working Committee (NWC).
He stated, “INEC has no role in the regular meetings of the NWC or NEC. These are internal party matters, as clearly established by the Supreme Court in numerous rulings.
“INEC cannot cancel our meetings. It is the party’s prerogative to decide such matters. INEC has no authority to do so. We are planning to hold our meeting as scheduled, if anything changes we will brief you.”
“We did not state that the meeting was for electing officers, conducting primaries, or nominating candidates for elective positions. Yet, the acting secretary of INEC, Halilu Aminu, decided to unilaterally assign a purpose to our meeting.”
Ologunagba stated that the PDP’s 100th NEC meeting would assess the progress made in preparations for the upcoming national convention, including reports from the zoning and convention committees established during the 99th NEC meeting.
“At the 99th NEC meeting, it was unanimously agreed to schedule the next meeting for the 30th of June.
“The constitution of the zoning committee and the convention committee was approved. Consultations with various organs of the party and stakeholders are ongoing,” he said.
Ologunagba added that INEC had no role in the statutory meetings of the NWC and NEC, except when the meeting involved electing party officers, discussing mergers with other parties, or presenting new candidates for elections.
He stated, “If the court will not have jurisdiction about what happened with the internal affairs of the party, I wonder why INEC will have jurisdiction over it because that is not the job of INEC.
“If we designate somebody to be the person to sign the letter, so be it. And that’s why it’s an internal affair of the party.
“Why the desperation to kill political parties? All they want is a one-party state, to stifle opposition. Which is just, like I have said earlier here, it’s wishful thinking, it’s a hallucination.
“INEC should know that this is hallucinating. This country will not go into a one-party state and nobody, no matter how powerful, whether you’re a president or you’re a combination of presidents, it will not work.”
He added, “For the record, there have been several times we have issued notices of 21 days notice for congresses or other meetings that require those things to INEC and we have had calls at some point to even shift those dates.
“So how did this acting secretary decide on his own to create and become a member of a political party and create for us an agenda that was not conveyed in the letter of the acting national chairman?
“The challenge for us now as a party is to say, who is the acting secretary of INEC working for? What is the objective? Why is he creating an agenda for our party for a regular statutory meeting that is routine?”
Ologunagba warned that INEC’s actions could undermine democracy and erode international confidence in its capacity to deliver credible elections.
