Anioma PDP Leaders, Others Reject Ndudi Elumelu’s Suspension

The leaders, elders and stakeholders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Anioma, the Delta North Senatorial District of Delta State, have rejected the suspension of Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, the new minority leader of the House of Representatives.

The rejection is contained in a communique issued on Monday, July 8, 2019 after an enlarged emergency stakeholders meeting, held at Grand Hotel, Asaba where they declared the purported suspension is “an error which may have been informed by an ill-advised display of counter-productive exhibition of party authority.”

Addressing the meeting, Rt. Hon. Olise Imegwu, a former member of the House of Representatives and former speaker of the Delta state House of Assembly, who also signed the communiqué, urged the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) to, as a matter of urgent national and party interest, rescind the suspension of Elumelu and provide a more acceptable arrangement and platform for the amicable resolution of whatever it was that may have resulted in the unfortunate action.

The stakeholders who stressed that their support for Hon. Ndudi Elumelu remains unshakable, also admitted that they recognized and accepted the right and authority of the NWC to sanction any member of the party as it deems fit, but were however of the view that the reason given for the suspension were insufficient, premeditated, over-punitive and potentially capable of causing widespread disaffection and  disenchantment amongst and within the ranks and membership of the party.

Expressing their dismay, the group said: “We are also still trying to fully comprehend the haste with which the suspension was announced, especially given the fact that Rt. Hon. Ndudi Elumelu had loyally and in deference to party directive, offered to appear before the party NWC on July 18 at 4pm after plenary or Friday, July 19 at 10am, ostensibly to tell his own side of the story and be given a fair hearing by the leadership of the party.

“We also note with an overwhelming sense of injustice that the decision of the PDP NWC, as contained in the press statement by the National Publicity Secretary of the party, appears to have been a product of a foregone conclusion, as Rt. Hon. Ndudi Elumelu was denied the chance of fair hearing and the very comprehensive nature of the allegations, not only smacks of a clear attempt to undermine the Delta State PDP Caucus in the House, as well as demean Delta State and undermine our huge contributions to the PDP, it equally suggest a suspicious act of vendetta against Delta State, perhaps in recompense for some bottled up anger over certain actions in the past.

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“We are therefore left wondering if the PDP NWC, headed by our national Chairman, would have been so hasty in carrying out their suspension, if the other contender for the office of the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives was not only from Rivers State but most instructively, representing the Federal constituency of the Governor of Rivers state. We have not heard any of the other members so nominated by the party for other Minority positions spitting fire, exhibiting legislative disobedience and causing disaffection in the House by their actions,” the communiqué stated clearly.

Urging the party NWC to rescind the suspension in the interest of the party, the group said: “We the PDP members of Anioma, Delta State totally reject the suspension of our member representing Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency, Rt. Hon. Ndudi Elumelu and consider it an error which may have been informed by an ill-advised display of counter-productive exhibition of party authority.”

The party leaders and elders then appealed to the PDP leadership to work tiwards an amicable resolution of the issue, saying that it is both in the interest of the image of the party and the political fortunes which the PDP would have gained by towing the path of due process and upholding the tenets of the independence of the legislature in the determination of their own affairs.

Photograph in this story: Rt. Hon. Olise Imegwu, a former member of the House of Representatives and former speaker of the Delta state House of Assembly addressing Anioma leaders, elders over Hon. Ndudi Elumelu purported PDP suspension on Monday in Asaba.