NASS LEADERSHIP ELECTION: PDP angry at members’ rebellion, vows to probe their votes

Worried by how its lawmakers voted during the recent election to pick leaders at the National Assembly, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has vowed to probe how they voted.

The party believed that some of its members were rebellious and did not adhere to its instruction, on who they should vote during the election.

The party leadership, at its 86th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Abuja on Thursday, described a situation in which some of its lawmakers decided to disobey the party’s directives as shameful and embarrassing.

It said to ensure such things never happens in the future, that it was going to set up a committee to investigate the voting pattern of its lawmakers during the 9th National Assembly election, in which the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) had everything turn out as it had planned.

PDP national chairman, Uche Secondus had said at the meeting, “Permit me at this juncture dear leaders to express the disappointment of our party on the embarrassing roles of some of our party members at the National Assembly during the election of their leaders.

“Party loyalty demands that you stick to your party at any given situation. When personal interest clash with party interest, personal should drown into that of the party, that’s what real democrats are expected to do.”

Secondus had also said, “Ruling APC came up with their ‘green card’ ‘vote and snap’ fraud that introduced an unprecedented dimension to the growing corruption index of this administration. My worry is the consequences this brazen corruption would have in the legislative activities of the Ninth Assembly.”

Also addressing newsmen after the meeting the party’s spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, said the party is setting up a committee to do the investigation but that he cannot mention its members and timeline for them to work.

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He said doing that would amount to pre-empting the job of the committee.

PDP had asked its lawmakers to vote for Senator Ali Ndume and Umar Bago as Senate President and House of Representatives Speaker respectively.

However, APC’s anointed candidates for those positions, Senator Ahmed Lawan and Rep Femi Gbajabiamila won.

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