By Henry Umoru
ABUJA- With last minute plans by the Board of Trustees, BoT, of the Peoples Democratic Party, President Goodluck Jonathan may today formally take over as Chairman of the board.

The decision would be taken at today’s meeting of BoT which would hold at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential villa, just as it would be the last meeting President Jonathan would attend as a serving President, though he remains a permanent member unless he changes his party.

Vanguard gathered that at today’s meeting which will be presided over by BoT Secretary, Senator Walid Jubril following the resignation of Chief Tony Anenih as chairman, no agenda was given for the meeting, but it may not be unconnected with the present problem the BoT was presently facing where members would be informed of the resignation of Chief Tony Anenih.

The meeting as gathered, would enable BoT members ruminate on as well as carry out a postmortem on the March 28 presidential election where the PDP suffered a major defeat by the opposition, the All Progressives Congress, APC.

Besides the removal of President Goodluck Jonathan from office in the election by the APC Presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari,, the first of its kind in Nigeria since 1999, the ruling PDP also suffered defeat at both the Senate and the House of Representatives which it hitherto controlled.

The PDP equally lost in its traditional states of Plateau; Niger; Kaduna; Benue; Bauchi; and Jigawa, just as, ahead of the inauguration of the National Assembly, on June 4, the PDP will become an opposition party in the Senate with 49 senators while the APC has 60 members and same applies to the House of Representatives where it has been thrown into the opposition.

Chief Anenih who resigned on Wednesday as Chairman of BoT through a letter to President Jonathan, said he took the decision for the peace of the party and in favour of the president to take over from him.

Chief Anenih specified that he left to allow for the President to be the Chairman like what played when former President Olusegun Obasanjo and ex- National Chairman, Dr. Ahmadu Ali amended the Constitution to read that to be the chairman of BoT, one must be a former President, but that has been expunged from the constitution.

According to the Constitution as amended in 2012, ” Board of Trustees shall Elect a Chairman and a Secretary from its members who shall also be members of the National Executive Committee;

” Without prejudice to the provision of this Constitution, ensure that the person to be elected Chairman and Secretary respectively are of proven integrity and have contributed immensely to the growth of the Party.

“Ensure that the Chairman and Secretary of the Board of Trustees shall, subject to Subscriptions (7) and (8) of this Section, serve a term of five years and no more.”

It would be recalled that six years after he was removed as Chairman, BoT, Chief Tony Anenih in 2013 bounced back to the position through a consensus, just as it will also be recalled that on June 27, 2007, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo emerged the new Chairman of BoT where he took over from the then Chairman, Chief Tony Anenih.

In line with Article 32(2(c) of the Constitution of the party which stipulates that the Chairman and Secretary of the BoT shall serve a term of five years and no more, Chief Anenih would have been left with another two years to hold on to the position because he came in in 2013, but for the challenges confronting the party, he had to call it quit.

Meanwhile, there were no indications of when the PDP would hold its National Executive Committee, NEC meeting and that of the national caucus against the backdrop that National caucus meetings hold before the BoT and then NEC meeting, just as President may not have the opportunity of attending a NEC meeting as a sitting president as he would hand over Saturday, May 29.

The National Caucus of the party, is saddled with the responsibility of harmonising the relationship between the Executive and legislative arms of government and coordinate their activities and those of the party as well as Consider, review and advise on policies and programmes of government.

For the meeting to hold, the National Chairman in consultation with the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria will summon the meeting of the National Caucus, to consider important issues affecting the party and the nation.

Chief Anenih in a one-page letter he signed and sent to President Goodluck Jonathan dated May 20, 2015 and titled: “Notice of my decision to step down as Chairman, Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party”, cited the current state of affairs in the party, adding that his decision would enable President Jonathan to effectively assume the chairmanship of the BoT.

The letter had read thus, “Your Excellency will recall that in a conversation I had with you a few weeks ago, I had offered to step down from the office of the Chairman of our party’s Board of Trustees and proposed to hand over to you as its new Chairman in a ceremony that would have taken place on the 23rd of May, 2015. I had also repeated this position in our subsequent meetings.

“As a follow up to the above proposal and in view of the current state of affairs in our party, I have decided to formally put my offer in writing to enable you effectively assume the Chairmanship of Board of Trustees or approve a process that will enable any other member of the BoT who is considered competent, to assume the position.

“Kindly accept therefore, this letter as notice of my decision to step down from the position of Chairman of the BoT of our party with effect from today, the 20th of May, 2015.

“I am happy to inform you that, I remain a loyal foundation member of our great party and will continue to pray for the prosperity of Nigeria, our party, and for you and your family.

“Your Excellency, kindly accept the expression of my highest regards.”

Accepting his letter of resignation, PDP National Secretary, Professor Adewale Oladipo who said the party received the letter and wished him well in his future endeavour said, “The National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has received the resignation of the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of our great party on personal grounds.

“In accepting the resignation the NWC noted the outstanding contributions of Chief Anenih in the party over the years especially in his capacity as the Board of Trustees Chairman.

” As one of the founding fathers of the PDP, the NWC appreciates Chief Anenih’s guiding role in the party in the last 16 years and wish him well in his future endeavours.

“Consequent upon the resignation, the Secretary of the Board of Trustees, Senator Walid Jibrin holds forth pending the election of a new BoT Chairman.”

Also according to the constitution, the BoT which is the Conscience of the PDP, “Mediates in disputes between the Executive and Legislative arms of Government; Offers advice on party matters to the National Executive Committee of the party; Attends any meetings of any other organs of the party, except the National Caucus and the National Working Committee; and Undertakes all other functions and activities as may be referred to it by the National Executive Committee or the National Convention.”

PDP BoT is made up of “All past and serving Presidents and Vice Presidents of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, who held or hold the respective posts as members of the party and who are still members of the party;

“All Past and serving National Chairmen, Deputy National Chairmen and National Secretaries of the Party, who are still members of the party; All past and serving Presidents of the Senate and Speakers of the House of Representatives who are still members of the party;

“All founding members of the party as defined in this Constitution; (e) Two women selected from each of the six geo-political zones; Three members, at least one of whom shall be a woman from each of the six geo-political zones; and Person(s) not exceeding six, who have contributed immensely to the growth of the party and found suitable by the Board Provided that membership of the Board of Trustee shall reflect the Federal Character of Nigeria.”