Nigeria Content Online

President Goodluck
Jonathan on Tuesday said that the termination of the appointment of
Okwesilieze Nwodo as the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP) was as a result of the “encumbering litigations” against
the party head.

Speaking to
journalists at the presidential wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport
(MMA), Lagos, upon arrival from Abuja, Mr. Jonathan disclosed that the
court cases against the party chairman were becoming too many for the
party, adding that the litigations dragged the party backwards.

“The party is tired
of all these litigations and it does not want to be dragged into the
mess, that is why he has to step aside so that the party can manage its
affairs,” he said.

Mr. Jonathan
explained that the party is preparing for the forthcoming general
elections and will not entertain issues that will pull it back, as he
noted that the PDP is working on forwarding the names of candidates to
the Independent and National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Mr. Nwodo,
according to reports from the emergency meeting held by the PDP in
Abuja on Tuesday, resigned his post as the national chairman of the
party and is expected to face disciplinary actions following his
conduct at the proceedings of the presidential primary of the party,
despite a court order restraining him from acting as the party’s
helmsman.

The president, however, disclosed that Mr. Nwodo remains a senior official of the party.

“He is still a senior member of the party and we have a lot of respect for him,” he said.

On voter registration

Speaking on issues
pertaining to the ongoing registration of voters in the country, Mr.
Jonathan said that INEC is working hard to fix the problems associated
with the machines.

“A lot of Nigerians
are undergoing registration and a lot of them are enthusiastic about
the process, but we have problems with the machines and INEC is looking
at it. I do not want to speak for them; it is an independent body, it
can speak for itself, it has been given maximum freedom to do what is
right , I pray that the faulty machines will be fixed by God’s grace,”
he said.