By Chris Ochayi
ABUJA— Aggrieved members of the Peoples Progressive Party, PPP, have protested to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, over untoward activities of the current leadership of the party, who they accused of gross indiscipline and illegal diversion of party’s funds into personal use.

The aggrieved party members, made up of 43 National Executive Councils, NEC, members who converged yesterday on Abuja, have asked for the conduct of legitimate convention for the party before the end of the year.

They have rejected what they described as “illegal convention” held last Saturday by incumbent National Chairman, Engr. Damian Ogbonna, describing it as ploy to perpetuate himself in office.

Addressing newsmen, national leader of the party, Chief Solomon Iyobosa Edebiri, alongside other party chieftains, accused Engr. Ogbonna of convening illegal convention without notifying NEC members.

He said the NEC met on Sunday, December 5, 2010, to review the situation and condemned the action of the Chairman, Damian Ogbonna, and the move to save the party from collapse.

“The NEC has eventually resolved to hold the party legitimate convention before the end of the year. The convention will receive the party annual report, adopt the party’s revised constitution and elect new officers of the party,” he said.

Attributing the genesis of the crisis rocking the party’s leadership to alleged corruption, Chief Edebiri recalled that “the crisis in the party began with the N8.4 million INEC grant in February, 2007 which was misappropriated.

“However, because he was able to smuggle the approval through NEC meeting, we allowed sleeping dogs to lie.

“The NEC members discovered sometime in October that the money which was received on May 12, 2007 was totally removed by May 22, 2007.”

Chief Edebiri explained further that “this ugly situation led the party NEC members to write a protest letter to the EFCC, the police and INEC.”

He added that “investigation conducted by the police showed that money was not invested in any computer centre.”