The PDP leadership dispute took a fresh turn on Monday as chairmen of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory called on security agencies to investigate what they described as the alleged forgery and distortion of court judgments by a rival group led by Tanimu Turaki, SAN.
Addressing journalists in Abuja, the state party leaders argued that the disagreement had moved beyond an internal leadership contest and now posed a challenge to the rule of law, public order and the party’s legal identity. They also appealed to the National Working Committee (NWC), FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, and former President Goodluck Jonathan to intervene.
Chairman of the PDP Chairmen’s Forum, Hon. Austin Nwachukwu, said the forum was acting “not out of bitterness, but out of duty” to protect the party’s integrity, while Secretary Hon. Babandi Ibrahim Gumel jointly endorsed the petition.
The chairmen declared, “Nigeria is a nation of laws, not of propaganda. No group of expelled and recalcitrant individuals should be allowed to substitute court pronouncements with press statements.”
They maintained that there is only one recognised PDP leadership and accused Turaki’s group of presenting itself as a faction of the party despite what they described as existing court judgments.
“There is only one PDP, recognized by INEC and by the courts, and it is the PDP led by the NWC under Alh. Abdulraham Mohammed as National Chairman and Sen. Samuel Nnaemeka Anyanwu as National Secretary. We reject this identity theft and demand that relevant authorities compel them to desist,” the forum stated.
As part of its demands, the forum urged former President Jonathan to publicly distance himself from what it described as the unauthorised use of his name by the rival group. According to the chairmen, Jonathan’s name had been manually submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) despite an authorised electronic submission.
“Mr. President, your words still guide this nation: ‘My ambition is not worth the blood of a single Nigerian.’ We call on you, in view of the global image and moral authority you command, to address Nigerians directly and disassociate yourself from the continuous use of your name in this spectacle of macabre dance by expelled PDP members,” they said.
The chairmen also called on the Abdulraham Mohammed-led National Working Committee to institute contempt proceedings and other legal actions against the expelled members over alleged impersonation, forgery and disobedience of court orders.
They further requested that security agencies investigate what they described as criminal forgery and distortion of court judgments and urged Nyesom Wike to order a security review of a building in Area 10, Garki, Abuja, which they alleged was being used to coordinate activities capable of disrupting public order.
The forum said certified true copies of the relevant court judgments would be made available to journalists to counter what it described as misleading interpretations of the rulings. It also commended the National Working Committee for overseeing party primaries, the emergence of Prof. Senator Sandy Onor as the PDP presidential candidate, and the upload and publication of candidates’ particulars by INEC.
Concluding their address, the chairmen urged party members to remain calm and united despite the PDP leadership dispute, stating that the party remained “an institution built on sacrifice, law, and the will of the people.”
