New twist in PDP crisis as petitioner disowns key document before disciplinary panel

A mild drama played out at the Chief Tom Ikimi-led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Disciplinary Committee sitting in Abuja on Tuesday, as confusion arose over the authenticity of a petition against former Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom.

Tensions escalated when Ortom’s legal team, led by C.T. Mue, appeared before the panel only to discover that one of the alleged petitioners had distanced himself from the petition.

This unexpected revelation cast doubt on the credibility of the allegations against Ortom.

Further controversy emerged as reports indicated that the PDP National Working Committee (NWC), which should have conducted a preliminary investigation into the petition’s validity before referring it to the Disciplinary Committee, failed to do so.

Confirming this development, Mue told Vanguard, “We appeared before the committee on behalf of our client, His Excellency, the former Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom.

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“When we got there, it was discovered that the only person who was identified as a member of the group of persons who allegedly filed the petition said he never wrote nor consented to the petition.

“I drew the attention of the committee to the provisions of Section 57 (1) and 57 (6) of the Constitution of the PDP on the procedure relating to party discipline.

“The procedure of handling petitions is that when a petition is written against a person, a copy is sent to the person concerned to defend himself.

“Now, one of the alleged petitioners has disowned the petition. The man said he was not a party to the document which was written on September 30th, 2024. Up till this hour, the petitioners have still not been found.”

Mue further said, “Section 57(6) of the party’s constitution specifically states: ‘Any decision taken against a member who has not been informed of the charges against him or has not been given any opportunity of defending himself shall be null and void.

“Having considered all of these, the Committee asked that we give it one month from today, that is until April 4th, 2025 and if the petitioners fail to appear to defend their petition, it will be dismissed just as we argued. In the eye of the law, there is no petition against our client before the committee.”

The committee, which held the hearing at the Legacy House building of the PDP in Maitama, declined comment on the matter.