The Senator Ahmed Makarfi National Caretaker Committee (NCC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been mandated to lead the party for one year.
This followed the disruption of the party’s national convention in Port Harcourt, Rivers State on Wednesday.
The delegates were prevented from entering the Sharks Stadium venue of the exercise.
Leaders of the party later moved to the State PDP Secretariat, Aba Road, Port Harcourt.
Presided over by the Chairman of Convention Planning Committee, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, the delegates took the following decisions:
1. Dissolving the earlier agenda to conduct elections into various offices to fill the vacuum orchestrated by the expiration of the tenure of the former Working Committee members;
2. The Convention ratified the constitution of the National Caretaker Committee as constituted by the 21st May, 2016 Convention in Port Harcourt, Rivers State;
3. Extended the tenure of the National Caretaker Committee ably led by Senator Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi, CON by 12 months, that is 1 year to enable the Party resolve all pending legal issues in courts;
4. The Convention also increased the number of the Caretaker Committee from 7 to 13 in order to cater for all the offices available in the NWC and include all the zones of the federation.
The Convention was then adjourned to a later date.
Earlier, the delegates were denied access to Sharks Stadium.
At the entrance of the stadium were police Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) and armed operatives.
Some of the delegates decried the development, especially after a court ruling in Port Harcourt gave the party the order to proceed with the convention.
A delegate from Ebonyi State, Mrs Mary Onah, said that she was shocked to see the venue of the convention sealed and delegates prevented from entering.
“I arrived here as early as 6 a.m. with other delegates from our state only to be told we could not go in. We are confused and do not know what is really happening,” she said.
Her counterpart from Kano State, Alhaji Mohammed Muntari, expressed similar sentiments and wondered why the convention would be scuttled after all efforts to put things right.
“ Honestly, I was taken aback when the police prevented us from entering the stadium. We will meet our party leaders to get more briefings on the situation and then know the way forward,” Muntari said.
Mr Balogun Olamide from Ogun, said he did not anticipate that the convention would be aborted, adding that delegates from the states thought that all was well with arrangements for the event.
Contacted, the Commissioner of Police in Rivers, Mr Francis Odesanya, said that the command prevented people from entering the venue in compliance with order of the court.
“Our actions are in line with court order; the time we moved in is not relevant.
“Police have been there and we are always everywhere. We are always providing security everywhere and it is our primary assignment to make sure everywhere in the state is well secured,” Odesanya said.
He explained that the police did not seal the venue but were providing security.
The commissioner added that the Force Public Relations Officer had already spoken on the issue, and declined further comments.
“Henceforth, direct your inquiries to the PPRO,” he said.
