A member of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Jacob Mark, has explained that the party deferred decision on its national secretary in order to abide by the Electorial Act that enjoined political party to give INEC 21 days’ notice before selecting new party officials.
Mark, who was a former National Legal Adviser of PDP, said that the party would have gone ahead to take that decision on Tuesday but treaded cautiously because of the section of Electoral Act that required that when there is going to be a meeting that will decide on replacement of party functionary the INEC should be given 21 days’ notice.
He expressed these views in an interview that was monitored on the Arise TV News on Tuesday.
He said: “So, since this NEC meeting is going to take a very firm decision on who is the national secretary of the party people decided that it is better to err on the side of caution and give the INEC the required notice.
“So, the national chairman was mandated to issue the 21 day notice so that we will be walking on safe grounds when we take that decision on June 30.
“Otherwise it would have been taken on Tuesday and the heavens would not fall. There will be no winner or loser because all of the people contending to be secretary are members of the party.
“The Supreme Court has said that the decision is entirely the decision of the party when we want to determine who is going to be the secretary of PDP.”
Mark also clarified that there is nothing disjointed about the PDP and pointed out that the Minister of the FCT, Mr. Nyeson Wike is a loose cannon that is roaming the forest and threatening everybody.
“But when PDP is meeting he will not attend. Wike was not at the NEC meeting on Tuesday. Wike should come to the meeting where PDP members are meeting if he wants an agreement with PDP, particularly the NEC that is where agreements are drawn.
“All of us members of the NEC cannot be marooned into one guest house where decisions are taken and they become binding.
“If Wike wants an agreement with the party he must attend meetings where party members who are entitled to participate in decision making are present.
“He cannot invite his friends to a guest house, then they discuss and he wants to lampoon and insult all of us and tell all of us that that decision is binding. There are lines he cannot cross,” Mark said.
He also described Wike’s support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027 as the highest level of disloyalty that can be found in any political party.
“Let the opposition be allowed to breathe. Let members of the opposition who have the capacity to challenge the president be allowed to contest election.
