Niger PDP forms parallel exco

By Aideloje Ojo
Minna

The leadership crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Niger state has deepened following the formation of a parallel state Executive Committee led by Hon. Yusuf Kure, at the weekend, in a special congress held in Minna.

At the special congress organised by a faction of the party led by former state chairman, Alhaji Mahmud Abdulrahman Enagi, a former member of the House of Assembly, Hon. Yusuf Kure, emerged as the chairman of the PDP in the state.
Other officials elected at the special congress included Tsalha Attahiru as the state deputy chairman and Adamu Wanigi who emerged as the state secretary of the party.
The emergence of the Yusuf Kure led Exco, Blueprint learnt, comes barely three weeks after the party organised a congress that produced Barrister Tanko Beji as the state chairman of PDP.

However, the Enagi-led faction raised issues with the conduct of the congress, alleging imposition of candidates, irregularities and impunity resulting in the rejection of Tanko Beji and his team.
Speaking in a pre-Congress press conference, Enagi said some concerned members of the party decided to form the parallel leadership to rescue the party from extinction in the state.
He said his group could not accept the Tanko Beji-led executive, adding that their complaints to the national body over the massive irregularities and manipulations had been ignored; hence the need to form parallel executive in the state.

Also speaking, a former Secretary to State Government (SSG), Hon. Idris Ndako Kpaki, said the party had learned its lessons from the last general elections, advising that members should take corrections by allowing power back to the people as against the imposition of candidates.
He regretted that many members of PDP in the state were defecting to other parties due to lack of internal democracy as well as impunity on the part of ‘powerful individuals.’