The Caretaker Chairman and chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Bayelsa State, George Tunah, says the National Executive Committee, NEC, does not have the constitutional power to elect or remove national officers of the party.
Tunah made this clarification on Thursday, when he appeared on Channels Television’s ‘The Morning Brief.’
This is coming amid the rejection of the reinstatement of Senator Samuel Anyanwu as the National Secretary of the PDP by 11 members of the National Working Committee on Wednesday.
Media Talk Africa recalls that PDP Acting Chairman, Umar Damagum, in a press briefing earlier on Wednesday, announced the cancellation of the NEC meeting and reinstatement of Anyanwu as the national secretary.
According to Tunah, there was never a 99th NEC meeting, stressing that the constitution of the party was clear as to how a NEC could be convened and who should issue a notice of a NEC meeting.
“By our constitution, a national officer of the party is elected at the national convention for a secure term of for years. Now, this term of office can only be cut short either by removal, resignation, or other processes enabled by the constitution.
“The only organ of our party that has the powers by our constitution to elect or remove national officers is the convention, not even the NEC.
“Now, unlike the situation when the constitution allows the NWC to make decisions on behalf of the NEC in the case of emergency, it is not the same with the national convention.
“No section of our constitution gives any power to even the NEC to make any decision on behalf of the convention. Whatever is restricted to the convention must be done by the convention,” he added.
