PDP NWC To Meet Today Over Emergence Of NASS Minority Leaders

The National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will meet today (Wednesday) over the emergence of National Assembly Minority Leaders.

Recall that Senate President Godswill Akpabio had announced Senator Simon Davou Mwadkwon (PDP, Plateau North) as the Senate Minority Leader and Senator Darlington Nwokocha (LP, Abia Central) as Minority Whip.

Akpabio equally named Senator Oyewumi Kamorudeen Olarere (PDP, Osun West) as Deputy Minority Leader and Senator Rufai Hanga (NNPP, Kano Central) as Deputy Minority Whip.

Also, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, named Kingsley Chinda (PDP, Rivers) as the Minority Leader, while Ali Madaki (Kano, NNPP) was named as the Deputy Minority Leader.

Abbas also named Ali Isa of the PDP as the Minority Whip, while George Ebizimawo of the Labour Party was announced as the deputy minority whip.

In a chat with Vanguard on Monday, a top-ranking PDP leader, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the PDP NWC will meet today to determine the next step.

The PDP chieftain also berated the Senate leadership over the decision to read an unapproved list of Senators for minority positions.

He said: “There is enough blame to go around for what happened.

“I’m sorry to say; our experienced Senators didn’t bring their experience to bear by not taking preemptive action.

“We had intelligence that a list which didn’t have the party’s impute was to be read and shared this information with our members at yesterday’s meeting, but here we are.

“From our end, we could have done better by resolving whatever issues there were before yesterday’s resumption, but we were more concerned about carrying everyone along.

“What is done is done; we are left with picking up the pieces, rebuilding our party and moving forward.

“A weak and divided opposition is what the APC requires to build a one-party state on its way to becoming a dictatorship.”

Also speaking, a PDP chieftain said the senators did not involve the party in the process that led to the emergence of Mwadkwon and Olalere as principal officers.

According to the PDP stalwart, the party leadership received the news of Mwadkwon and Olalere’s emergence from the media.

He the Monday meeting between the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) and the 36 senators at PDP national secretariat did not take any decisions on the matter.

He said: “So, the senators requested that we give them time to discuss among themselves and that they would get back to the leadership of the party in real-time.

“The next thing we heard was the announcement of the names of the minority leaders. We had no input in it. It’s their decision.

“The NWC received a letter today (yesterday) stating that it was the Northcentral that nominated Mwadkwon. But we all know that it’s outside the purview of any zone to nominate principal officers.”

When asked if the party would sanction the senators, the official said there was no offence committed.