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Indications emerged yesterday that the embattled National Chairman of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Prince Vincent Ogbulafor is expected to quit his post anytime following pressure allegedly from the presidency over his recent legal case in court.
Also, it has been alleged that the PDP’s chair would have to resign following withdrawal of support from the PDP governors who have now succumb to advice by President Goodluck Jonathan who said he cannot work with him due to his legal case.
Already, his aides had cleared the chairman’s personal effects from his office at the PDP’s Wadata Plaza national secretariat and Ogbulafor did not report for work yesterday, although no official statement from his or any of his aides.
The National Chairman was not at the secretariat up till 6:30 p.m when our reporter left the Wadata Plaza. However, PDP National Secretary Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje in an interview with reporters over the development could neither confirm nor deny the resignation reports.
Baraje, who said he could only confirm whether the story was true or not after some hours, stated that Ogbulafor was still consulting other stakeholders from his zone as a result of the Southeast governors’ demand on him that he should resign.
He said the Southeast governors’ request was taken seriously because of the PDP tradition and unwritten law that governors are leaders of the party in the states.
Baraje, who noted that Ogbulafor had not been convicted as a result of the ongoing corruption trial, also said the only snag was the request by his zone which he is representing that he should resign.
Baraje said: “The national chairman of a party like PDP cannot resign without you hearing. I cannot confirm that to you now but maybe in the next few hours I will be able to confirm yes or no.”
He added: “On a serious note, it is no longer news that three governors from the eastern states asked him to resign as a result of the case in court and you know the process of electing our chairman and various members of the executive party.
“They come from the zone before; they are now elected through national convention. So he has to go on consultation with his zone and presently he is doing a lot of consultations around from his zone and the outcome of the consultation is what will tell us whether he is going to resign or not.
“That is why I tell you that presently I cannot confirm and I know that before the end of the day, definitely you will know the outcome of his consultation, today (yesterday). Definitely you will know the outcome of the consultation.” Commenting on the reports that all the PDP governors had ordered Ogbulafor to resign, he replied: “that is not true and I won’t say more than that.”
He dismissed the knowledge of the insinuation that President Goodluck Jonathan was behind the move to oust the party’s National Chairman.
When asked to give the process involved in the resignation of the national chairman, the party scribe reacted: “the process is very clear in the Constitution. If he resigns, then there is a vacancy and the constitution says that if there is a vacancy he hands over to the deputy national chairman pending the appointment of a new chairman from that same zone and the appointment will also have to be confirmed by the executive committee of the party.
“The process is that he will resign, handover to the deputy and the deputy will hold forth and the letter will have to be presented to the deputy who will present it to the National Executive Committee (NEC) and at the same time approved.”
Indications emerged yesterday that the embattled National Chairman of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Prince Vincent Ogbulafor is expected to quit his post anytime following pressure allegedly from the presidency over his recent legal case in court.
Also, it has been alleged that the PDP’s chair would have to resign following withdrawal of support from the PDP governors who have now succumb to advice by President Goodluck Jonathan who said he cannot work with him due to his legal case.
Already, his aides had cleared the chairman’s personal effects from his office at the PDP’s Wadata Plaza national secretariat and Ogbulafor did not report for work yesterday, although no official statement from his or any of his aides.
The National Chairman was not at the secretariat up till 6:30 p.m when our reporter left the Wadata Plaza. However, PDP National Secretary Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje in an interview with reporters over the development could neither confirm nor deny the resignation reports.
Baraje, who said he could only confirm whether the story was true or not after some hours, stated that Ogbulafor was still consulting other stakeholders from his zone as a result of the Southeast governors’ demand on him that he should resign.
He said the Southeast governors’ request was taken seriously because of the PDP tradition and unwritten law that governors are leaders of the party in the states.
Baraje, who noted that Ogbulafor had not been convicted as a result of the ongoing corruption trial, also said the only snag was the request by his zone which he is representing that he should resign.
Baraje said: “The national chairman of a party like PDP cannot resign without you hearing. I cannot confirm that to you now but maybe in the next few hours I will be able to confirm yes or no.”
He added: “On a serious note, it is no longer news that three governors from the eastern states asked him to resign as a result of the case in court and you know the process of electing our chairman and various members of the executive party.
“They come from the zone before; they are now elected through national convention. So he has to go on consultation with his zone and presently he is doing a lot of consultations around from his zone and the outcome of the consultation is what will tell us whether he is going to resign or not.
“That is why I tell you that presently I cannot confirm and I know that before the end of the day, definitely you will know the outcome of his consultation, today (yesterday). Definitely you will know the outcome of the consultation.” Commenting on the reports that all the PDP governors had ordered Ogbulafor to resign, he replied: “that is not true and I won’t say more than that.”
He dismissed the knowledge of the insinuation that President Goodluck Jonathan was behind the move to oust the party’s National Chairman.
When asked to give the process involved in the resignation of the national chairman, the party scribe reacted: “the process is very clear in the Constitution. If he resigns, then there is a vacancy and the constitution says that if there is a vacancy he hands over to the deputy national chairman pending the appointment of a new chairman from that same zone and the appointment will also have to be confirmed by the executive committee of the party.
“The process is that he will resign, handover to the deputy and the deputy will hold forth and the letter will have to be presented to the deputy who will present it to the National Executive Committee (NEC) and at the same time approved.”
