 PDP National Chairman Iochai Yu reacts to recent suspension by party ex-coach saying it is an exercise in futility, even as the governor of River Stadia's of weekly back suspension, saying are you contributed to the PDP's loss and just concluded elections? Tonight we'll discuss the PDP crisis which is lingering even after the 2023 presidential and governorship elections. This is Plot Politics, my name is Nyangu Hakeiji. The National Chairman of the People's Democratic Party Iochai Yu has dismissed his proponent suspension by a section of his ward executive over alleged anti-party activities as the handy work of some desperate ignorant gamblers who lack basic understanding of the PDP constitution. The National Chairman of the People's Democratic Party PDP Dr. Iochai Yu was suspended by the executive for alleged anti-party activities. The suspension of Dr. Iyuu was affected by the ward executive of the party in Iguarov ward of Boko Loko government area, Benware State. Meanwhile, Governor Yesom Wike of River State has said he is in support of the suspension of the National Chairman of the People's Democratic Party PDP Iochai Yu. Wike stated that Iyuu played a major role in the colossal failure of the PDP in 2023 general elections. Joining us to discuss this is, later on we will be joined by Chidi Lloyd, Chairman of the Imoha local government area of River State. But right now we have on standby Osse and Nene, a chieftain of the People's Democratic Party. Thank you Osse for joining us on the program. Yeah, glad to be here as always. Okay, well PDP is now becoming synonymous with crisis. Before the election there was crisis, even though the party was denying it, that there was no crisis and they were going into the election as one undivided house. Right now after the election and what the governor of River State is calling a colossal failure, there still seem to be another crisis wherein the National Chairman has been suspended. Would you like to get your comments on that first of all before we move on? I think if you have a headache and you don't treat it or you don't treat the source of a problem, it's no surprise if the problem persists. We have some people within the party who have unfortunately decided to play almost like an antagonistic role and that wasn't treated before the elections, that persisted during the elections and that's what we're seeing play out today. Okay, well before we go on, let's just take a listen to what the governor of River State said and when we return there are other issues that we need to look at. For instance, what the constitution says or what the PDP believes should be the steps to take before someone can be suspended because there are so many things coming from this case that we are handling today. So let's listen to the governor of River State and his comments on the suspension. Not only did he take a distant tour in the presidential election in your state, he also lost the state as far as governorship election. And they know the antics of Iowa. You know, if you know Iowa very well, he has told us before now that he's very close to the president-elect Ben Aswajib Bonatteribu. He also claims that he's very close to the presidential candidate of Pilipe. So whoever that emerges, whoever that wins, he has nothing to lose. He said that? Yes. That didn't tell me that he never said so. Is it wrong to be close to both of them? You don't know what the point I'm making. The point is that, who is that attached to? If this person wins, it's okay. If this person wins, it's okay. How can somebody be the leader of the party? Are you behind the suspension? I'm in support of the suspension. In fact, if you had left before now, they would have said he left and that would wipe the Pilipe election. But thank God, he presided over the close-up failure of the party. And so staying there doesn't make sense again. You have to look for a way how the party can be rebuilt. And that is the tutorial matter. Okay, we are hearing like the voice of the G5. That's what I'd like to say because Wike was leading the G5. The governors who said that whatever IU was doing was wrong, unconstitutional and all. But we don't know what the constitution of the PDP actually says. For instance, people from the world of Iochua IU have suspended Iochua IU. He came out to say it's an exercise in futility. Even though right now the court, the High Court in Benway State has barred him from parading himself as the national chairman of the PDP. What does the constitution of the PDP actually say about how or the steps that need to be taken before someone can be suspended from the party? Thank you very much. I always like giving a historical background of things so people understand the journey and where we are today. The PDP, when it was formed in 1998, I never tell, saying it was formed in the backdrop of the military. Abacha had just died. They're the Trump government. So very quickly, a set of individuals, the G34 at the time, formed the core of a party that eventually became the PDP. And so we had a constitution from, you know, written at that time. There was literally just a ticket, a transitionary ticket from military rule to civilian rule. It was what allowed us to conduct our congresses and it was a very imperfect document. I have every single copy of every single amendment we have made in that time. I have three of them here. I have the 2001 amendment, I think, if I can find it. This was it. And what was interesting about this 2001 amendment is that it sort of introduced the idea that the BOT chairman will be reserved for the president. At the time, remember, Abas and Joe had tried his third term bid. It wasn't successful. And so this amendment was almost like a soft landing for him. They reserved the chairmanship of the BOT to former presidents. Then from 4 to 2014, we have the 2012 amendments. That's this document here. And President Jonathan was moving up against the governor at the time who wanted him to hold on to the purported agreement he had that he would only run one term in 2011. And so with Bamanga took out the then national chairman. They introduced into the national executive committee of the party, the NEC. Not just the governors and former heads of state. It was also senators and House of Rep members. They expanded the NEC so that the governors wouldn't have such a strong chokehold over the party. Which brings me to the most recent amendment we have, which is this amendment. It's the secondous amendment. And what is interesting about this one, because we had instances where party chairman would be removed and then a new party chairman from another zone would assume a leadership of the party. This amendment says introduce what we call two deputy national chairman. So you have deputy national chairman not and deputy national chairman south. So whoever the national chairman is, if he's removed, it would be the deputy national chairman from his zone. It is not a south that replaces him. And that sort of was supposed to cure that loss of representation if the national chairman is removed. But I spoke very quickly about three different manifesto I think I showed you just now. Every single one of them has one thing in particular, two things in common. They penalize anti-party activities and they define it. So if I go to the most recent amendment, anti-party says that the penalty saying is 12-6. No member of the party shall align with any other party or group so undermine the party or any of his elected governments. That's one clause. But more important and I think more relevant to your question, it talks about how you discipline members of NWC, how you discipline members of NEC, how you discipline the leadership of the party at the national level. One thing politicians will always do is protect their interests. So every single copy of the constitution as amended has this interesting clause and I read it to you. It says this is now the most recent one, 57-7. Notwithstanding any other provision relating to discipline, no executive committee at any level except the national executive committee shall entertain any question of discipline as may relate or concern a member of the national executive committee, deputy governors or members of the national assembly. So to answer your question straightforward, can people at the world level wake up in the middle of the night and get a few members to add their signatures to a document purporting to remove or suspend the national chairman? This constitution that I've just read is a publicly available document. It says you cannot do that. The problem is that I talked about people in the party who sort of act in an antagonistic role. The problem is that there are people in the party who do not care about the constitution, who do not appear to care about the rule of law. Because if you recall, this has happened before. This was the same thing that happened in 2021, I think, with our chairman at the time, Sekondus, where again in reverse states, some people at the world level claimed to have removed him and then in quick fire succession, a court injunction, the next party injunction was procured that again restrained him from parodying himself, and that's the language that he used, parodying himself as a national chairman. And it's illegal, it's unconstitutional, but it's a distraction because once you procure court judgment, that then becomes law. And so you can maybe, you know, bad fit actors, because we always be bad fit actors. But what rose out of the 2021 episode in August was that in a week, three expert injunctions were procured, were obtained. One restrained the chairman from presenting himself as a national chairman for reverse. A few days later, another one I think was gotten from Kirby that vacated that first injunction and then another one was gotten maybe from Kando, I think he was, that again restrained the national chairman to Kondo from presenting himself as chairman. And one of the things that the former chief judge of Nigeria did at the time was that he took a very tanko, he took a very hard stance against these procurements of expert emotions and injunctions and foreign forum shopping. And those three judges were actively sanctioned by the judiciary. So it's sort of disappointing that two years later we are seeing these same actors come out and roll out the same script and the judiciary is allowing itself to be complicit in a theatrical stage that really is a road to nowhere. So to answer your question, our constitution doesn't support these actions, but they have backed an illegality with an expert injunction procured from a client judge. Okay, we've been joined by Chidi Lloyd right now, but just before we go to him, I'd just like to get some clarification. You've talked about the fact that even the state ESCO can initiate any disciplinary action on a member of the National Working Committee. Okay, that is understandable. But what steps should be taken to discipline a member of the National Working Committee who is not doing what he's supposed to do at the work level? For instance, if the allegations leveled against the EU at the work level are true, what can be done about that? Will the ESCO just sit and fold its arms and start complaining to the National Working Committee what can they do to be proactive enough to make sure that it doesn't happen? Some of the allegations that they said were that EU does not pay dues at the work level. He's a member of the National Working Committee. They also said that his aides voted against the PDP in his ward. They also said that EU did not even vote in the last election and he lost his ward. So if these things were true, they are very weighty allegations, what is the National Working Committee supposed to do? What is the what ESCO supposed to do at that moment? Should they just leave things live because he's bigger than them? What disciplinary actions should be taken by the National Working Committee? Again, I need to stress this point that as a society we have to be governed by laws and we have to respect our laws whether we agree with them or not. And you ask the question that again I just need to refer you to a constitution because it does answer that question. It says nothing in this constitution shall preclude or invalidate any complaints submitted through the National Working Committee to the National Executive Committee concerning any person or any official whatsoever. So there's a process for addressing those grievances embedded and coded in this constitution. I think what has just happened like I said is most of these people know this constitution by heart. Most of them have members of this party since its inception in 1998. This is like I said just a distraction. It just is to just continue and attempt to continue to like you said so trouble within the party and keep us from really really addressing the things we need to do. But it's curious to me because you kept on referencing Governor Wike. Here Governor Wike talk about supporting the suspension of IU because IU works for Tinibu. When Governor Wike and his co-travelers have come out publicly to say they are proud that they work for the Tinibu presidency. They are proud that they work for OB. They have come out to proclaim this so I don't understand the sort of dissonance either they are supporting working against the party or they are not. And regardless of their feelings they cannot take the laws into their own hands. We have a constitution and I think they need to abide by I'm a member of a group we just formed called the Leadership League and it's a collection of young members of the party who are truly tired of coming on these types of spaces to make apologies for the bad behaviour of our leaders and I think it's time we start speaking through to these leaders and maybe start putting forward a new breed of leadership that is more reflective of the aspirations of Nigerians. I don't think they have learned the lessons of the just concluded elections. I don't think they are aware that Nigerians are tired of this style of opposition or tired of this farcical drama that will come out to play almost every day on national television. I think Nigerians deserve better and we are hoping to provide better for Nigerians. Okay, thank you very much. Like I did say, we have been joined by Chidi Lloyd, Chairman of the Moha Local Government Area of River State. Good evening Honourable thank you for joining us. Hello Mr. Lloyd, can you hear me? Okay, it seems he cannot hear me and as soon as he is able to join us fully we will bring him back on. So let me come back to you you touched on some things that were supposed to be my next question and that is the fact that someone like Wike, Governor Wike of River State has clearly told us that he worked for the opposition in some quarters. The Governor of Ben Westid also clearly worked for the opposition even if he didn't work for the opposition that's the word you used when you were talking about your constitution he aligned with the opposition because he said he loved for instance the Labour Party Presidential candidate so much so that he doesn't even mind or didn't even mind losing his territorial ambition for him and we are wondering why Iochayu is working anti-party when the people who have publicly proclaimed have not been suspended as well why is Wike not even invited why is Wike not facing the disciplinary committee as it were why is Iochayu just referred to the disciplinary committee and then Anyim Paisa Anyim has been suspended and some other people so what is going on in the PDP do we have selective discipline in the PDP? That's a brilliant question and that's one of the grounds I have and the leadership league have with the current end of youth there seems to be a selective application of justice with regards to disciplining airing leaders who clearly come out on national television to say that they are working against the party and will continue to work against the party's interest people like Anyim like you said who came out to justify why he worked against the party in the states people like Paisa Iochayu who came out to say he is with Inubu and he is with San Wulu and he has no no regards I think there should be a question of integrity for the integrity group if you do not agree with an organization or the leadership of an organization and you cannot find legal ways to change it the honorable thing to do is to resign as a step away to distance yourself from that organization it's not to stay in as a more and as a saboteur and be acting in this honorable manner it's not something I would do if I have a problem in the party and I disagreed with it fundamentally I would walk away but specifically to Governor Wicked and I think why he hasn't been sanctioned is because I think he realized the gravity of his offences and he went to get an injunction restraining the party from suspending or disciplining him and Governor Autumn I think did the same thing and some of the other people who have been suspended like Paisa Iochayu and Ayim did not get caught caught order restraining the party from disciplining them so I see a lot of bravado and block down television and I think if you think the party is truly powerless to censor your discipline you then set the court orders aside and let's see whether the party is truly toothless but personally I think the more honorable path to take instead of conflict is to just step away from the party hold your head up higher walk into APC or labor parties and act like headquarters and join them as a member that to me is more honorable than the shenanigans currently playing out within the party okay I think JD Lloyd has joined us now Mr Lloyd good evening welcome to plus politics hello Mr Lloyd yeah okay we couldn't get you first of all but now I'm glad that we can get you now welcome to plus politics thank you we're discussing what is happening in the PDP how the word exgo expelled or suspended the national chairman the national chairman is also saying that's an exercise in futility the high court in Benway has said that he should not parade himself anymore as the national chairman of the PDP and then there is the constitution of the PDP saying that nobody can discipline him because he belongs to the national working committee and so many things are happening in the PDP we saw this before the election and it seems to be a deja vu and like the governor of river state said because of these problems there was a monumental failure of the party that's how he described it I don't know how much better it would have been but what does this say about the PDP is the PDP a party without laws or the PDP is just a party that is dying well thank you very much for this and I'd like to first say that the PDP is greater than any individual be it national chairman deputy national chairman or governor of any states because the PDP has the constitution that governs the conduct of his members and of course this constitution of the party flows from the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria which is the ground norm and the source of every other constitution or laws in the country when you look at what is going on for instance in Benway states where the world escrow has suspended the national chairman that is the right way to go I'm not looking at the the merits the events that led to that it's only the Benway people like the world escrow that can speak to that he was accused of not being able to deliver his unit and I've asked my friends what does unit mean a pulley unit is that unit that is in front of your house or probably at the primary school in your community not in any other community a politician of that rank should be able to without much ado deliver his unit and the man like you cannot be quarantined to deliver his unit he should actually deliver his state and deliver his political party in any elections so the world escrow has facts about which they have acted and I hear that the high court in Benway have also given an order restraining the national chairman from parading himself as national chairman then I saw on the news back of a TV station other than yours that the national chairman has said that it is only the national executive committee of the party that can remove him and I know that you would not have made that statement that statement may have been credited to him in error we are told that every judgement of court every decision of court no matter how worthless it may seem must be obeyed until a court a superior court says otherwise so that's why I know that Senators here are you who haven't been a lecturer some time senate president could not have said that the order of a high court it does not apply to him that is calling for anarchy so the people have the call he would do is to go to court and challenge the decision of the court but I'm not saying that the court cannot do anything to him I do not think that is the way to go okay but there is this matter of the constitution the PDP constitution which states that actually the ward Exco cannot do that if the person that is in question is a part of the national working committee that is according to your constitution and then let me just finish we have this example of the secretary today federation who was also removed by his ward working committee of his party overruled and then he was retained so does the ward Exco really have that power even as the constitution says they don't have to remove him let me quickly say this the constitution of the old progressive congress is not the same may not be the same with the constitution of the people's democratic party so when you make reference quickly or hastily to what happened between the party and the level of the ward in the case of the secretary to government you may be doing so hastily try and find out the PDP constitution says the national working committee members cannot be dissipated by anybody else except the national working committee I'd like you to refer me to the section you see it is not enough to come on the TV program and try to bamboozle people can you tell me section this of the PDP constitution says you recall you recall that the the ultimate power lies with the Executive Council of the committee at the ward level you recall that in the case of Oshomole that his ward escrow when Oshomole was the national chairman of the old progressive congress he took his ward to expel him from the party so what are you doing cherry picking you cannot do cherry picking so you refer me to the case of the SGF I have also referred you to the case of Adam Oshomole who was suspended by his ward you get the point at this point what one would say ordinarily the senator Iyaju shouldn't even have waited for his ward to take this decision for leading the for leading the party into this shameful defeat senator Iyaju ought to have done the needful by honorably resigning as national chairman every same person would have done now to stay put it was the same character the same attitude of wanting to stay put that led to the crisis that we have in the political party where people are so much attached to political offices in difference of the good of the majority a party goes into an election without five of his governors and you say to help with them we will win and here we are how can you no matter what it takes you have not been able to settle your we went into this election fragmented all those who some of those who voted for BDP and people who would have voted for the BDP as if that is not enough five governors says they have an issue and you refuse to listen you arrogantly carry on and this is what has happened even those who were urging and stoking this fire we are shocked that they could not even deliver their units so you can see arrogant and little in an organization people must learn to stoop to conquer well gentlemen we will just take a short break and when we return we will answer some of the questions that we have posed to ourselves right now so just a brief break now we will come back in a moment