The National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) under the acting National Chairman, Amb. Umar Damagum has reversed the referral of Gov. Samuel Ortom of Benue State to the party’s National Disciplinary Committee.

The NWC, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Debo Ologunagba, in Abuja on Thursday, also reversed the suspension of former Governor of Ekiti State, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Sen. Pius Anyim, and others.

Ologunagba said that the PDP met on Thursday and extensively discussed recent developments in the party.

He said that the NWC recognised the imperativeness of total reconciliation among party leaders and critical stakeholders for a more cohesive party, in the overall interest of its teeming members and Nigerians in general.

“Consequent upon the above, the NWC reverses the referral of Gov. Ortom to the National Disciplinary Committee.

“The NWC in the same vein reverses the suspension of the following under-listed members of our great Party:

“Ibrahim Shema (Katsina State); Fayose (Ekiti State) Anyim (Ebonyi State); Prof. Dennis Ityavyar (Benue State) and Dr. Aslam Aliyu (Zamfara State)”.

Ologunagba said the decision was without prejudice to the NEC powers to take necessary disciplinary action against any party member at any time, pursuant to the provisions of the Constitution of the PDP (as amended in 2017).

“The NWC charges all leaders, critical stakeholders and teeming members of our Party across the country to be guided by the provisions of the PDP Constitution (as amended in 2017) as well as the new spirit and necessity of reconciliation, unity and harmony in our Party at this critical time.”

Ologunagba said the PDP must remain focused as it continued to take every necessary action to recover its alleged stolen mandate and that of its Presidential Candidate, Atiku Abubakar, through the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal.

The PDP NWC under the suspended National Chairman, Sen. Iyorchia Ayu, had on March 24 referred Ortom to the party’s disciplinary committee.

The NWC also suspended Shema, Fayose, Anyim, Ityavyar and Aliyu, alleging anti-party activities in the 2023 general elections.

Ayu was, however, on Sunday suspended by the executive members of his ward, Igyorov Ward of Gboko Local Government Area (LGA) of Benue State, which he described as an exercise in futility.

He was suspended over alleged anti-party activities, failure to pay his annual subscription fees, and failure to vote during the just-concluded elections, among other offences.

The party, on Tuesday, appointed Deputy National Chairman, North, Damagum as its acting National Chairman in obedience to a Monday court order restraining Ayu from parading himself as the party’s national chairman.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Thursday, indicated its intention to respond in a suit filed by Festus Keyamo against Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Feb. 25 poll.

This was also as Oluwakemi Odogun, lawyer to the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC), told Justice James Omotosho of a Federal High Court, Abuja of the commission’s plan to file its response in the case.

 Keyamo, a spokesperson of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), had instituted the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/84/2023 against Abubakar over allegations bordering on money laundering.

Also joined as defendants in the suit include the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), ICPC and the EFCC as 2nd to 4th defendants respectively.

Keyamo had earlier asked law enforcement agencies to arrest Abubakar based on an audio recording released by Michael Achimugu, his former aide.

In the audio, the former vice-president was alleged to have explained how shell organisations were set up to divert public funds.

 Justice Omotosho had, on March 7, threatened to strike out the suit over Keyamo’s inability to diligently prosecute the case.

Upon resumed hearing, Keyamo’s counsel, Okechukwu Uju-azorji, informed that the matter was slated for hearing.

Uju-azorji said that the former vice president, the 1st defendant, served on him a preliminary objection and that they had responded.

The lawyer said Abubakar, however, was not represented in court today to take his application.

He prayed the court for an adjournment to enable the 1st defendant take his objection.

Counsel to the EFCC, Senami Adeosun,, who also prayed the court for a short time to enable them file their process in the suit, said they were still within time to respond.

Odogun, who represented ICPC, spoke in the same vein.

“We were served on March 15 with the originating processes. We sought an adjournment since we are within time to file,” she said.

The judge adjourned the matter until April 18 for hearing of the pending preliminary objection.

Omotosho, who ordered that hearing notices be issued to Abubakar and CCB, that were not represented in court, directed that parties interested in filing any application should do so before the next adjourned date.

In a preliminary objection filed by Abubakar’s lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, the ex-vice president sought an order striking out or dismissing the suit for being incompetent and want of locus standi.

The lawyer, who argued that the suit be dismissed for want of jurisdiction, said the case failed to disclose a reasonable cause of action against his client.

But Keyamo, in a counter affidavit deposed to by Henry Offiah, a litigation clerk in his chamber, averred that the CCB, ICPC and EFCC failed to respond to the allegations he raised against Abubakar and indeed failed to take any steps to invite or arrest him for the purpose of investigating the allegations against him.

He said on Jan. 16, he wrote a petition to the three agencies requesting them to invite the former vice president for the purpose of conducting investigations into the said allegations.

 He said that they refused to commence any form of investigation with respect to the allegations leveled against him

Keyamo said he was aggrieved and instituted the present action on Jan. 20.

“The allegations made against the 1st defendant (Abubakar) are the subject matter of the investigation sought by the plaintiff and the plaintiff seeks reliefs against the 1st defendant,” the document read.

He said it was in the interest of justice for the court to dismiss Abubakar’s preliminary objection.

Mr. Festus Keyamo has petitioned the State Security Services (SSS), demanding the arrest and prosecution of Mr. Peter Obi and Datti Baba-Ahmed for making incendiary comments on television.

Keyamo Minister of State for Labour and Employment and also a spokesman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) made copies of the petition available to newsmen on Thursday in Abuja.

He described comments made on television by Obi and Baba-Ahmed, presidential and vice-presidential candidates, respectively of the Labour Party (LP) at the Feb. 25 election as incendiary and capable of causing rebellion.

In the petition dated March 23, Keyamo noted that: “in a post-election period such as this, there is the need to soothe frayed nerves.’’

He noted that whilst exercising their rights to pursue constitutional means of addressing their grievances, the duo had been going from one television station to the other to make inciting statements.

He stated that the latest of such were comments made by Baba-Ahmed on behalf of himself and Obi on a television station on Wednesday.

He added that the LP’s vice-presidential candidate threatened on television that if the president-elect was sworn in on May 29, it would signal the end of democracy in Nigeria.

“Posing as an accuser, a judge and a jury all by himself, he unilaterally declared the return of the president-elect by INEC as unconstitutional.

“I also have it on good authority that Obi and Baba-Ahmed have camped some youths in a hotel in Abuja for posting inciting messages on social media platforms on daily basis.

“The posts are such that could cause panic and fear within the federation and incite people to riot and cause social unrest,’’ Keyamo stated in his petition.

He noted that while Obi and Baba-Ahmed had submitted election petitions to the courts for adjudication, their conduct and utterances amounted to a subversion of the processes they had instituted in court.

He added that their action was also a subversion of the Constitution and the laid-down processes for addressing disputes and grievances.

“These conducts and utterances are a build-up to something more sinister and it is important you rein them in now.

“These comments and claims are made not just within the boundaries of exercising their rights to freedom of speech but have crossed the line to call for the outright truncation of democracy.

“They have been insisting on the adoption of other processes outside the contemplation of our Constitution.

“In some cases, their privies have even called for the establishment of an Interim Government.

“I submit this petition in my personal capacity as a patriotic Nigerian to invite, arrest, interrogate and if necessary charge both individuals to court for their conducts which amount to incitement and treasonable felony,’’ Keyamo stated.