‘Extended’ Suspension Of Elumelu, Others Tear PDP NWC Apart

The purported extension of the suspension of the House of Representatives Minority leader, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu and six others is currently generating bad blood in the National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

This is coming as some members of the party’s NWC have disowned the purported extension of the suspension of Hon. Ndudi Elumelu and others from the party.

Recall that Elumelu and others were slapped with a one-month suspension after they were nominated as leadership of the party’s minority caucus of the House of Representative.

The party national chairman, Uche Secondus-led NWC had in a statement issued by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan suspended Elumelu and six others for alleged anti-party owing to his preference for Hon. Kingsley Chinda as leader of the PDP Caucus in the House.

BIGPEN Online learnt that at the expiration of the one month suspension, the party through a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, again, announced the ‘extension’ of Elumelu and others’ suspension.

But the Deputy National Chairman (South), Elder Yemi Akinwunmi and the National Youth Leader, Sunday Udeh Okoye, dismissed the purported extended suspension, saying that the party’s constitution did not create room for such extension.

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They spoke at separate interviews with reporters in Abuja on Tuesday.

Akinwunmi denied knowledge of the extension of Elumelu and others suspension which he said was not discussed at the NWC level.

He said: “I am not aware of the extension of the suspension. I do not remember any occasion where it was elongated,” adding, “I am only aware that he was suspended only for one month, after that, I am not aware of any further action.”

Asked about the status of the suspension, Akinwunmi further said: “I am an integral part of NWC, but I am telling you that to the best of my knowledge, I am aware that he was suspended for one month and that was about six months ago.”

The party national deputy chairman affirmed that Elumelu’s suspension had lapsed but did not say whether he has now been recognized as the Rep Minority Leader, saying: “It (suspension) has lapsed).

On his part, the National Youth Leader also denied knowledge of the suspension extension, saying that the NWC has not given such order.

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He suggested that the party spokesman had no authority to issue the statement announcing the extension of Elumelu’s suspension.

“That is not our statement,” he said, adding: “We did not do that.”

Okoye further explained: “The Constitution of the party says that you have to give them one-month suspension, you have to set up a committee and the committee will have to make a recommendation within that one month. And whatever the committee makes, that will be the basis of your next action.

“If you recommend that they will be expelled, they will be expelled. If they say suspend, you suspend them. If they say fine, you fine them. You do not just elongate, the Constitution does not say elongate after the one month.

“And anybody who is saying that we elongated, you can ask the person where lies the report of the committee setup. Where is the report and we were in the meeting of the NWC all through this month and we never for one day, discussed the matter.

“It has never been in our agenda. You can also request from the person (spokesman), the agenda of each of the NWC’s meeting within this November or that of October.”

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Also affirming that the decision to extend Hon. Elumelu and others was not the party leadership’s decision.

“I was in all the meetings, it was not discussed”, Okoye reiterated.