Nigeria Content Online

The crisis in Enugu
State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party may have been settled
following the intervention, on Tuesday night, of President Goodluck
Jonathan, who reportedly ordered that the two factions of the party in
the state be harmonised.

The factions are
headed by the state governor, Sullivan Chime and the national chairman
of the party, Okwesilieze Nwodo, who is a former governor of the state.

Mr Jonathan was
said to have given the order at a meeting held at Presidential Villa
and which was attended by the vice president, Namadi Sambo, as well as
Messrs Chime and Nwodo.

Others at the
meeting were all PDP members of the National Assembly from Enugu State
led by the Aviation Minister, Fidelia Njeze. Allison Madueke, husband
of the Petroleum Resources minister, Diezani, was also in attendance.

Sources at the
meeting said it agreed that both factions should nominate members into
the party executive committee in the state to ensure balance of power.
It was not clear, however, if the chairman of the dissolved committee,
Vitalis Abba was retained in that position.

It was further
gathered that following the agreement to harmonise the executive
committee, the fresh congress ordered by the national working committee
(NWC) of the party in the state on Monday, was shelved.

Screening of candidates and court cases

The meeting also
agreed that the screening of all aspirants to the elective positions
for the 2011 general elections should be moved back to Enugu State.

The National
Working Committee had on Monday, through the national organising
secretary, Uche Secondus, instructed all the aspirants to come to Abuja
for the screening following reports of poor security situation in the
state arising from the aborted exercise.

The Aso Rock
meeting, our sources added, ordered individuals and groups which
instituted cases in courts on the crisis, to withdraw such cases with
immediate effect to ensure total reconciliation. It was also resolved
that since the Chime-led administration is a “winning team”, it should
be allowed to continue.

The national
publicity secretary of the PDP, Ahmed Alkali, could not be reached
yesterday as he was said to have travelled to Gombe State where he is
running for the governorship election.

Working on resolution

After the meeting,
Mr Chime and the deputy senate president, Ike Ekweremadu were at the
PDP national secretariat yesterday where they met with Mr Nwodo and
members of the NWC.

Although,
discussions at the meeting were not disclosed to journalists, it was
learnt that they came to brief the NWC officially on the resolutions of
the meeting with Messrs Jonathan and Sambo.

Mr Nwodo had in
late October, ordered the dissolution of the Enugu State chapter of the
party following a letter from the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) saying that the congresses in the state and seven
others were inconclusive.

However, the
governor and his group resisted the dissolution, insisting that the
national chairman acted unilaterally. As the governor’s groups
challenged the chairman’s action in court.

There were,
however, reports that Mr Nwodo took the action because he was not
allowed to have a say in the running of the party in the state. The
chairman was also said to have opposed moves by Mr Chime to give
automatic ticket to elected lawmakers, saying it was undemocratic. The
issue allegedly led to the order to shift the screening of the
aspirants in the state to Abuja; that has now been reversed.

The stand-off between the governor and the chairman got to feverish
pitch when both reportedly clashed at a recent meeting of the national
executive committee of the party. Mr Nwodo has since denied the report.