By Desire Emmanuel
The Tanimu Turaki-led National Executive Committee (NEC) of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has ratified the decision of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) to challenge the Appeal Court judgment on the party’s leadership at the Supreme Court.
Briefing newsmen at the end of the 103rd NEC meeting in Abuja on Friday, March 27, the faction’s National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, said that the party had already filed applications against the Appeal Court judgment for an accelerated hearing to protect the party’s legal standing.
Ememobong explained that the NEC meeting was convened to deliberate on and ratify various decisions taken by the NWC and the Board of Trustees (BoT), acting on behalf of the party’s highest decision-making organ.
“The NEC came to the agreement that the decisions were taken in utmost good faith and therefore, without any dissension, unanimously ratified those decisions.
“This is to let our teeming supporters know that the process of saving our party is on course; all hope is not lost,” he said.
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Ememobong clarified that while the legal battle continues at the apex court, the move did not inhibit the ongoing internal reconciliation efforts.
According to him, the party remains open to a “discontinuance or withdrawal” of the suit should agreeable terms be met between the contending factions.
On the status of the rift within the party, Ememobong described reconciliation as a “journey toward a destination,” noting a visible de-escalation of hurtful rhetoric and hostilities between the two groups.
“The bus has left the station; the train has left the station. While we have not yet arrived at the final destination of total reconciliation, milestones have been achieved.
“We are avoiding mutually-assured destruction so that our candidates will have a solid platform to run on,” he stated.
Ememobong emphasised that the goal of the peace talks was to strengthen PDP as a formidable opposition party rather than making it an appendage of any other party.
He dismissed reports of a parallel national convention scheduled for Sunday, March 29, stating that such matters were being handled through internal dialogue to avoid “inconvenient truths” in the public space.
Ememobong urged members to participate in the ongoing digital membership drive at iampdp.org.
He expressed the party’s commitment to providing Nigerians with a viable alternative to the ruling party, noting that “time is a critical element” and both sides were working within the available limits to reach a consensus.
