The Peoples Democratic Party‘s Southeast caucus has provided a list of requirements to the reconciliation panel led by former Senate President Bukola Saraki in order to prevent its leaders and members from leaving the party.
Sunday PUNCH gathered that this happened during the closed-door meeting between the Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah, and the Saraki panel on Friday at the Enugu State Government House. Mbah is the leader of the party in the zone.
The caucus reportedly insisted that the National Youth Leader, Sunday Ude-Okoye, must be retained as the party’s National Secretary.
The group also said that the party would lose its grip on the South-East if the leadership failed to address the concerns of stakeholders from the zone.
Sunday PUNCH gathered that the meeting was part of efforts to stem the tide of defections rocking the party, especially from the South-South and South-East.
Saraki, who addressed journalists after the meeting, had said, “Frankly, we had a very useful discussion. We are going away with some of the suggestions that we have here and hopefully will work on that.”
Insiders at the meeting confided in our correspondents that Mbah lamented that the zone had not been treated fairly in party affairs.
According to a source, the governor complained that the South-East, which had for years been a strong pillar of support for the party, was not respected.
He said, “The governor told the panel that, as a condition to sustain the dominance of the party in the region, the PDP must retain Ude-Okoye as the party’s National Secretary instead of Senator Samuel Anyanwu.
“He lamented that the zone had not been given due recognition in party affairs. The governor reminded the panel that the South-East, led by the then Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, stood firm and brought back PDP on a strong footing when the party had a crisis in 2015. The governor told the panel that the PDP leadership must give the South-East a prominent role in the party.”
Recall that the South-East PDP leaders had on May 14 issued a communique in which they threatened to exit the party if Udeh-Okoye was not retained as National Secretary.
Signed by the Zonal Chairman, Chief Ali Odefa, the communique partly read, “The South-East has consistently served as a stronghold of the PDP from inception. In its near three-decade existence, we have given our loyalty and all to the party.
“Therefore, we hope that this time around, the position of the South-East PDP regarding the office of the National Secretary is accorded the honour and immediacy it deserves.
“However, in the event that our position is not promptly implemented by the party, the South-East PDP, as a family, will be compelled to reconsider our relationship with the PDP going forward.”
