PDP G21 insists on constitution amendment - Court rules today on convention

Soji-Eze Fagbemi, Abuja - 04.03.2008

Members of the G21 re-affirmed on Monday that it would insist on the amendment of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Constitution to check the influence of former President Olusegun Obasanjo as chairman of the Board of Trustees. The group made known its intention as an Abuja High court will rule today on a suit brought before it by G21 to stop the holding of its national convention this weekend.

Two weeks ago, three members of the party had gone to court to seek for an interim injunction to stop the PDP from going ahead with the convention, scheduled for Saturday in Abuja. The court has fixed today for ruling.

The three members are Iroha Iroha, Abdullahi Maibargi, and Cecilia Asman. They are praying the court to stop the convention on the grounds that only the National Executive Committee of the party could call for the convention and not the National Working Committee.

The Group 21, which is the main opposition group within the PDP, maintained that it would push for the amendment of the constitution at the convention. The request of the members to have the constitution reviewed was thrown out at the last meeting of the party’s NEC on grounds that enough notice was not given, the constitution of the party states that notice for amendment of any clause must be submitted two months before NEC meeting.