PDP inaugurates Committee on House minority leadership rift

By Tunde Opalana, Abuja

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Wednesday inaugurated a 10- man committee to investigate and find out why some of House of Representatives members and senators failed to abide by the decision of the party during the election of leaders of both houses of the National Assembly.

Headed by former Senate President and the Secretary to the PDP Board of Trustees, Senator Adolphus Wabara, the committee was charged to investigate and find out whether there is any involvement of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the decision taken by PDP assembly members.

While inaugurating the committee, the PDP Deputy National Chairman, Elder Yemi Akinwonmi, who stood in for the national chairman said the committee should establish reasons for the action taken by PDP lawmakers and identify individuals involved so that the party can create mutual and political atmosphere for reasonable interaction with National Assembly members.

The committee members are also to find out and recommend ways to checkmate such tendencies in the future and ensure that all members work together to defend the interest of the party at all times and under whatever circumstance.

“The national executive committee and the national working committee and indeed, the party have the highest confidence and optimism that you will work for the actualization of the terms of reference with the intent of defending and moving the party forward,” he added.

Akinwonmi said setting up the committee is a display of PDP’s internal democracy, assuring that the committee will resolve the issues by giving persons involved fair hearing, adding that members are committed party members and eminent personalities who have served the nation through the party in different capacities.

Other members of the committee are Sen. Ben Obi, Sen.Ibrahim Mantu, Sen. Stella Omu, Sen. Abdul Ningi, Yunana Iliya, Margaret Icheen, Hassan Hyatt, and Austin Opara while Prof. Wale Oladipo is the secretary of the committee

Responding, the committee Chairman, Sen. Wabara described the assignment as serious, promising on behalf of his colleagues that they will diligently perform their duties in accordance with the terms of reference, in such a manner that PDP members at the National Assembly will remain intact and loyal to the party.

“We will look into all the areas; we have men and women of proven integrity at the National Assembly. That is where politics starts and ends. So we will go in there and unearth what happened and even before three weeks get back to the party,” he said.