MAKURDI (Sundiata Post) – The crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Benue State has heightened as the suspended party chairman, John Ngbede, yesterday, met to ratify the suspension of the immediate past governor, Samuel Ortom.
Ngbede told newsmen at the party secretariat, Makurdi, that Ortom and his lieutenants were suspended because they wanted to take the party leadership by force.
He alleged that the former governor and his cronies were trying to take the party back to the old order where malpractices held sway.
The state chairman, Sir John Ngbede, the secretary and organising secretary of the party were suspended on August 5, in a letter signed by the party’s Publicity Secretary, Bemgba Iortyom, alleging misconduct at the just concluded ward congresses.
But Ngbede dismissed his suspension and that of his officials saying only the national executive committee of the party could suspend him.
“Ordinarily, our tenure expired on August 4, but we are waiting for the directive of the national secretariat. It’s only the state executive committee of the party that can suspend me by virtue of my position as member of the national executive.
“Its true that the former governor was suspended by the state working committee of the party because what we are saying is that we will not allow anyone who thinks he can take the leadership of the party by force.
“The party belongs to the people and we will not allow anyone to take us back to the old order where they will be hijacking voting materials. We should allow people to feel the impact of the congress.
When journalists visited the party secretariat on Tuesday, only the alleged suspended chairman, secretary and organizing secretary were at the secretariat planning to hold a state executive committee meeting where the suspension of the former governor and three others may be ratified.
But the former governor, Ortom, has stated that nobody can suspend him from the party.
Ortom, who spoke through his media aide, Terver Akase, said the suspended chairman had no powers to call for a meeting and that any meeting held without him was null and void.
“Ortom has not been suspended, he is the leader of the party in the State and any meeting that is called or going on without his consent is null and void. The chairman of the party in the State, John Ngbede, the secretary and the Organizing Secretary are on suspension.
“The chairman, secretary and organizing secretary were all suspended by nine out of 13 members. Nine out of 13 is close to 90 percent and so based on the one month suspension, they don’t have the powers to convene meetings at whatever level.
“Ortom has not been suspended because the man who signed that suspension letter was suspended at the time he signed that letter. So he didn’t have the powers to sign any suspension.
“So, whatever meeting they are holding is null and void because they do not have the constitutional rights to convene a meeting of the party.”
He said the PDP in Benue state does not have a faction insisting that Chief Ortom is the leader of the party in the state.
“The chairman, John Ngbede is suspended, his suspension began yesterday, August 5 and it will run for one month. In his place, the acting chairman, Mr. Isaac Mffo who is the Vice Chairman is now the acting chairman of the party.
“If the meeting of the party is to be convened, it should be in consultation with the leader of the party and that meeting will be presided over by the acting chairman of the party.
“So any meeting that is going on and is not called by Isaac Mffo is null and void. I insist that John Ngbede stands suspended from the party. There is freedom of association under the Nigerian constitution, so he can meet with anybody he wants.”
Akase stated that the party has a conflict resolution mechanism and as such advised the purported three suspended state officials to make themselves available before the panel already set up to investigate them.
