“Which one is New PDP? A New PDP with registration certificate?” Ndoma-Egba asked in a tone apparently intended to belittle the PDP faction. “When you have a legal personality, it is either you are a natural person or a corporate person. Corporate means that you are a creation of law, either you are created by statutes or you are registered by Corporate Affairs Commission or you are registered as a political party by the Independent National Electoral Commission. Is there any party called New PDP with a registration certificate?” He said, “In the eyes of the law, there is just one PDP. I don’t know why these New PDP, old PDP are being dramatised. If they want a new PDP, they should obtain registration certificate for New PDP with a logo, with its colour. So, until that happens, you cannot say there is New PDP or old PDP. There is only one PDP. The PDP that has registration certificate is the PDP.” The senate leader also dismissed claims by Alhaji Abubakar Baraje – national chairman of New PDP – that he is the PDP national chairman as a daydream. He, however, advised aggrieved persons within PDP to wait for the outcome of the reconciliation meeting slated for October 7. “I can wake up now and say I am the President of Nigeria. Does that make me president of Nigeria? Every party’s national officers are registered with INEC. That is why INEC supervises their national conventions to elect their party officers. We went into this convention that ended up in this walkout because INEC, as the regulator, said it had made this observation – you did not follow due process – and we went back and INEC was there and they have the record of who the national officers are. “If I stand up today and say ‘I’m the coach of Super Eagles,’ does it change the fact that Stephen Keshi is the coach of Super Eagles? Let us wait till October 7. October 7 will come and go,” Ndoma-Egba said. He also debunked the notion that the National Assembly had been opposed to the calls for a national conference until recently, when Senate President David Mark tended to have a change of mind. He said the federal legislature had always supported a conference that would provide the platform for discussion among Nigerians. Ndoma-Egba, who said he agreed with the allegation that the origin of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) was dubious, added that what the National Assembly had opposed was the agitation to make the conference sovereign. He noted, however, that as long as the various institutions and powers that exist today in Nigeria emerged through the constitution, the claim of dubiety that heralded its advent had been ratified. The senate leader said agitation for a sovereign national conference was belated, out of tune with reality, and misplaced, arguing that those making the agitation have also by their conducts and submission to the provisions of the constitution in the last 14 years, ratified it. He said, “The National Assembly has never been against a national conference or a national dialogue or whatever you call it. Where we have consistently had problem is when you insist that the conference or dialogue or whatever should be made sovereign. That is where we have a difficulty. Let us say that our constitution has dubious origin. I concede that point. But are we saying that we don’t have a constitution? We have conducted elections under that dubious constitution. People had emerged as presidents. (Olusegun) Obasanjo emerged as president; (Umaru) Yar’Adua emerged as president. Now it is (Goodluck) Jonathan. They have exercised presidential authority which we have submitted to. Governors have emerged under that constitution.
Posted on: Sun, 29 Sep 2013 08:30:25 +0000
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