Former Senior Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to ex-Vice President Namadi Sambo, Umar Sani, has said that the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, ?is merely being clever by half,? following the crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The ongoing internal crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) took another twist as the party?s National Working Committee (NWC) disowned the South-South Zonal Congress held in Calabar, describing it as an unauthorised gathering.

Commenting on the crisis during an interview on ARISE NEWS on Monday, Sani said, ?In our party, it is the national headquarters that issues directives as to how the election should go. I have not seen where in our constitution, where it is said that notwithstanding the national working committee, the zonal caucus or the zonal congress can sit down and conduct elections on itself without guidelines, without nothing from the national headquarters. Wike is merely being clever by half.?

He added, ?In our party, it is the national headquarters that issues directives as to how the election should go. I have not seen in our constitution, where it is said that notwithstanding the National Working Committee, the zonal caucus or the zonal congress can sit down and conduct elections on itself without guidelines, without nothing from the national headquarters. Wike is merely being clever by half.

?What I want Mr. Wike to do, if he has any challenge, is to quote the relevant sections of the constitution that gives the zonal congress the power to conduct an election on itself without any supervision from any quarters. If he does that, then I will be convinced that what he is saying is correct.?

He explained that zonal congresses are meant to be conducted across the six geopolitical zones but only under the authority of the NWC.

Furthermore, he pointed out that the NWC remains the sole authority to direct an election. Since the NWC had categorically stated there was no congress in the South-South, he argued that the event had no legitimacy. The absence of key PDP governors, including those of Delta, Bayelsa, and Akwa Ibom, further reinforced doubts about its authenticity.

?What happened in Calabar, is supposed to be our zonal congresses. We have zonal congresses for South-West, South-South, North-East, North-West, North-Central and all the 6 geopolitical zones.

?The only organ of the party that has the right to direct an election is the National Working Committee. And the National Working Committee, not divided, in unison, they said there is no congress in the South-South. So, if the National Working Committee says there is no congress, then who conducted the congress, because they?re supposed to be the ones to send the officials that will go and conduct the congress. So, once they say there is no congress, it means that there is no congress.

?When you take a critical look at the attendance at the congress that happened in Calabar, you will discover that there was no PDP governor who was there and such type of events naturally, all the South-South PDP governors should be there. The governor of Delta is supposed to be there, the governor of Bayelsa is supposed to be there, the governor of Akwa Ibom is supposed to be in that meeting and none of them was there. They have also been communicated by the party that there is no congress. Anybody who goes ahead to conduct a congress in Calabar, at the Transcorp Hotel in Calabar is just going on a wild goose chase because once the party says that thing does not exist, it doesn?t exist.? (THISDAY)

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