Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP), yesterday, insisted on Kingsley Chinda as its choice for the position of minority leader of the House of Representatives.
The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, who stated this in an interview with Daily Sun, in Abuja, charged Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila, to respect the party’s choice of its principal officers.
Ologbondiyan was reacting to a plea by some opposition lawmakers in the House to rescind the suspension of Ndudi Elumelu and six others, for their roles in the leadership crisis in the minority caucus.
Last Friday, the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) l suspended Elumelu, Toby Okechukwu, Gideon Gwani and Segun Adekoya, Anayo Edwin, Wole Oke and Lynda Ikpeazu; for their role in the leadership crisis in the PDP caucus in the House of Representatives.
The opposition spokesman noted that at the moment, there is no communication before the party, seeking clemency for the suspended lawmakers.
He said: “I am not aware that we have a communication from the PDP caucus in the House of Representatives.
“When it comes before the party, we will deliberate on it and take a decision.
“The decision of the NWC was taken at a meeting.
“When the NWC meets, if what you said was presented at the National Assembly is before the NWC, the NWC will decide on it. But, as we speak (yesterday), I am not aware of any such thing.”
Ologbondiyan added: “At the moment, we insist on the status quo, which is that the party wrote the names of the minority leaders, as agreed, with members of the House of Representatives at a meeting at the national secretariat of the party.
“And, as was also taken to other minority parties, where there was no objection.
“ Consequent upon that, the party wrote a letter to the speaker of the House of Representatives, just as it did to the President of the Senate.
“And the speaker said he will not take any communication from the PDP and sat within the confines of his office and wrote a list that has no bearing with the party and presented it as the minority leadership.”