Tension over implication of governor in PDP crisis

• How allegation of N1bn from him was concocted to smear NWC •Mass sack looms at national secretariat, PDI

THE crisis engulfing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has taken a new dimension, following alleged implication of a serving governor in the crisis between the National Working Committee (NWC) and workers of the party.
Nigerian Tribune gathered that the alleged bribery of the NWC with N1 billion by the said governor was concocted by some forces within the party to instigate workers against national officers of the party.
A leader of the party, who spoke in confidence with some select newsmen in Abuja, said, “our leaders, including ex-President Goodluck Jonathan and members of the Board of Trustees (BOT), are disturbed about the crisis rocking the party
“One of the factors we have stumbled on is the implication of a serving PDP governor in the crisis of confidence between the workers and the NWC. This is part of plans to hijack the party by some vested interests.
“We are already putting heads together on how to resolve the matter at hand, because it is threatening the survival of the party.”
Reacting to the development, an Abuja-based non-governmental organisation, Initiative for Progressive Governance in Emerging Communities (IPGEC), on Monday, said its findings confirmed that the crisis was neither about the proposed PDP rationalisation of staff nor the speculated downsizing of its workforce.
The co-coordinator of the group, Dr Musa Adejo, made the position known in a press statement last night.
He called on the PDP NWC to take immediate steps to redeem its integrity and visit necessary penalties on persons involved in the acts of dishonesty, misconduct and slander.
“Our findings clearly revealed that an aggrieved prominent member in the PDP fold served as catalyst and facilitator for the actualisation of the public protest carried out by the PDP workers, which escalated from an in-house disagreement to the level of national dishonour.
“Our investigations regarding the N1 billion allegedly solicited by the PDP NWC from a governor showed that it was falsehood and the basis of introducing such into a matter of human resource management should be of concern to any discerning mind.
“It was on the premise of suspicious insincerity that the NGO directed searchlight on other relevant areas. The probe exposed the naked fact that the governor and his close associates have, for some time, been mounting pressure on the PDP NWC and made many overtures to some top members of the PDP NWC without success,” he said.
Meanwhile, the BoT and National Executive Committee (NEC) members of the party have reportedly waded into the matter.
A member of the BOT told the Nigerian Tribune in confidence in Abuja, on Monday, that the step became necessary in the overall interest of the party.
It was gathered that the BoT and the NEC were in support of the party’s NWC position on the revalidation of the workers membership, to weed out those suspected to be moles and working for the opposition.
The BoT member pointed out that some of the workers were actually brought into the party by their godfathers who had  since defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The fear at the party headquarters was that these workers, who owed allegiance to the godfathers that facilitated their employment in PDP, would be passing sensitive information and documents to their godfathers.
The party’s NWC will, therefore, meet tomorrow, to review the crisis and take a decision on the matter. This would be communicated to both the BoT and the NEC for further action.
A source close to the party said  that the recommendation might include severe sanctions such as dismissal, sack and reprimanding of the workers perceived to be teleguiding the workers against their employers, while the national secretariat may be shut down for few days, to allow for total overhaul of the Wadata House of PDP.
The usual bubbling at the party headquarters was not there on Monday, as none of the NWC member was seen while the workers were seen in groups discussing the crisis.
The party’s director of administration also held a meeting with senior staff from the supervisory cadre, as well as the director of the Peoples Democratic Institute (PDI) for several hours on how to resolve the crisis.
Also the presence of some strange faces believed to be operatives of the Department of State Security (DSS) were noticed and on enquiry by the Nigerian Tribune, they claimed that they were around for security reasons.
Efforts to speak with the national publicity secretary of the party, Chief Olisa Metuh, on the matter failed, as he was said to be attending series of meetings on the forward