•INEC not aware he has left UDP •APGA flag off rally unsettles PDP
By Ishaya Ibrahim /Lagos
Umaru Dikko
The Disciplinary committee set up by the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) may be heading for the rocks going by the many uncertainties surrounding the chairman of the committee, Umaru Dikko.
Dikko was recently appointed head of a seven-member committee that would be enforcing the rules and regulations of the PDP.
Other members of the committee include former Minister of Transport and member Board of Trustees (BoT) of the PDP, Chief Ebenezer Babatope; the Publisher of Champion Newspapers and BoT member of PDP, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu; former Deputy National Chairman and BoT member of PDP, Alhaji Shuaibu Oyedokun; Hajiya Nana Aisha Kadiri; Hussaini Diraki and Senator Emmanuel Agboti.
The first uncertainty about Dikko is which political party he belongs. Is it the PDP which appointed him head of its disciplinary committee or United Democratic Party (UDP) where he holds the position of National Chairman? Impeccable sources in UDP said Dikko has neither resigned his membership nor position in UDP.
Sunday Independent checks also revealed that the records of the UDP with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), retains Dikko as the serving National Chairman of the party. His name is conspicuously displayed on the commission's website with the designation – National Chairman. Other executive members of the UDP include National Secretary, Godson Okoye; National Legal Adviser, Tony Ogbulafor while the positions of National Treasurer and National Financial Secretary were left vacant.
The UDP national headquarters, according to INEC record is at No. 6, Gnassingbe Eyedema Street, Asokoro District, Abuja.
Findings by this newspaper also indicated that the party is still very much alive as its National Secretary, Okoye, is the party's gubernatorial candidate in the November 16 election in Anambra State.
A UDP faithful who spoke to Sunday Independent on condition of anonymity said they were shocked when Dikko, their National Chairman and founder was named the PDP disciplinary committee chairman.
One source said it would amount to gross anti-party activity for Dikko to head the PDP disciplinary committee since he has not resigned his membership and position in UDP.
Sources in INEC also said they were oblivious of any leadership change in UDP. According to our INEC source who didn't want his name in print, Dikko remains the valid chairman of UDP, because if there was any leadership change in UDP, the commission would have been duly notified. "If there are changes, INEC will be notified. Changes in a political party can only come after convention," the source said.
Also, a UDP source, in corroborating what INEC said, told this newspaper that Dikko could only be said to have left the party following a convention.
Another uncertainty about Dikko is his failing health. The 77 year old has been suffering from an undisclosed ailment. He recently returned from the United Kingdom where he had been receiving treatment. His failing health, sources said, was the reason he could not attend last week's inauguration of his committee.
But despite the odds against Dikko, the PDP is still not in the mood of relieving him of the assignment.
Sunday Independent gathered that the reason the PDP National Chairman, Bamanga Tukur settled for Dikko as the head of its disciplinary committee was part of the plot to garner enough northern support for President Jonathan's re-election bid.
Tukur and Dikko have not only come a long way, but the PDP top gun believes that the controversial Second Republic minister of transport has enough clout to douse certain misgivings about the President Jonathan's administration and particularly, his re-election bid.
Efforts to get Dikko to react on his current membership or not of UDP was not successful as the many calls put to his line by Sunday Independent were either not answered and when it was eventually answered, it was another person who claimed that the Second Republic minister was unavailable to respond to our query.
Dikko was believed to be in Kaduna at press time, from where the man who answered his calls when this newspaper called twice on Friday said the politician was being awaited at the weekend.
The PDP leadership was also silent when it contacted. The party's National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, did not respond to calls and text messages put on his phone on whether the PDP was aware that Dikko is still the National Chairman of UDP.
Meanwhile, ahead of the November 16 governorship election in Anambra State, a chieftain of the PDP and a prominent woman leader has written off the PDP in the electoral contest.
Sources close to the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) leadership told our correspondent that the former woman leader who is well known in Anambra PDP politics and at the national level, called key chieftains of the party on phone shortly after the flag off of APGA rally and said with what she had seen, it has diminished whatever chances the PDP might have in the election.
