The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the PDP has approved August 12 for the party’s non-elective special national convention to be held in Abuja.
The decision was reached at NEC’s 74th meeting, held on Tuesday, which also mandated the Ahmed Makarfi-led National Caretaker Committee of the party, to set up a disciplinary and reconciliation committee.
Leaders of the party had held four separate meetings between Monday and Tuesday.
Addressing newsmen at the end of the NEC meeting, which held at the party’s national secretariat, in Abuja, yesterday, the National Publicity Secretary, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, said while the tenure of the caretaker committee was to elapse on August 16, the time was too short for it to meet the constitutional requirements for holding convention during which elected officials would emerge.
“When you want to hold an elective national convention, there must be elaborate notice to INEC and other things; but we cannot meet such conditions anymore because there is no time. But non-elective convention does not require such elaborate notice; it only requires a short time notice to INEC.
“So we need a special non-elective convention to settle all the constitutional matters,” he said.
Sources said there was the likelihood for the tenure of the Makarfi-led caretaker committee to be extended. This, according to the sources, was to enable it organize a convention that will usher in new elected leaders for the party.
Adeyeye also said proposals for amendments to the party’s constitution, that will deal with issues of discipline, internal democracy and administrative bottlenecks, had been circulated to members at all levels to study and make inputs.
He said the expanded national caucus meeting held on Monday, as well as yesterday’s caucus meeting and BoT meeting, addressed the same issues after which their resolutions were forwarded to NEC for approval.
The meetings were well-attended by party leaders, including former President Goodluck Jonathan as well as serving and former governors of the PDP.
