Atiku Abubakar, the former Vice President of Nigeria, has returned to the country ahead of the highly anticipated National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Read Also: Okechukwu informs Atiku, Utomi, and others that 2024 is different from 2015 in merger discussions
After being out of the country for several weeks, Atiku arrived in Nigeria in the early hours of Tuesday.
The NEC meeting, which has been long overdue, was finally scheduled for April 18 under pressure from the Ambassador Illiya Damagum-led National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP.
The NEC is considered the second most influential decision-making body of the party, following the national convention, and is required to convene every quarter as per the party’s constitution.
The upcoming NEC meeting holds significant importance for the PDP, as it is expected to shape the future of the party.
Atiku, who is widely regarded as the de facto leader of the PDP due to his role as the party’s presidential candidate in the previous elections, is expected to lead other meetings in preparation for the NEC gathering.
The party has been facing mounting criticism over its poor management, with allegations of external control being leveled against it by former Benue State governor, Senator Gabriel Suswam.
Additionally, the North Central zone has called for the acting national chairman, Illiya Damagum, to step down and allow a substantive national chairman from their region to assume the position, as originally zoned in 2021.
It is worth noting that the current acting national chairman, Damagum, took over the position in 2023 after a court order removed former national chairman Senator Iyorchia Ayu from office.
The party’s last convention saw Senator Ayu, from Benue State in the North Central zone, emerge as the national chairman. However, Damagum, who hails from Yobe State in the North East, assumed the acting national chairman role.
The PDP has also faced challenges from some governors and party chieftains who openly opposed Atiku as the party’s presidential candidate in 2023 and have recently expressed their support for President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The outcome of the NEC meeting will likely have far-reaching implications for the PDP’s future direction and leadership.
