By Henry Umoru
ABUJA—Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, is summoning its national leaders nationwide for a series of meetings to reappraise the zoning policy of the party and national offices by the party.

The meetings to hold next week, Vanguard learnt, would also deliberate on the legal options taken against the party by the Governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Timipre Sylva.

The organs of the party that would meet are the National Executive Committee, NEC, the National Caucus and the Board of Trustees, BOT.

Meetings schedule

NEC, it was learnt, is scheduled to meet on Wednesday, December 22. The NEC meeting is to be preceded by the meeting of the National Caucus on Monday in the presidential villa where President Goodluck Jonathan is expected to preside.

Following the national caucus meeting, the BOT, chaired by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, is also expected to meet on Tuesday to prepare the stage for the NEC meeting on Wednesday.

The meetings, which will be the last for the year, as gathered, would enable the leadership of PDP discuss the forthcoming national convention which is fixed for February 25. The convention is expected to produce a new NWC which would run the affairs of the party for the next four years.

Sources in the leadership of the party told Vanguard that a major issue to be discussed during the meetings is the zoning of other positions of the party outside that of the National Chairman and Secretary that are already in the North-East and South-West, respectively.

The hitherto revered zoning policy of the party was recently upturned with the election of Mr. Aminu Tambuwal as Speaker of the House of Representatives and Mr. Emeka Ihedioha as Deputy Speaker.

Positions’ allocation

Also, party positions allocated along geo-political zones, including that of the National Chairman and National Secretary, have been shifted to other zones on account of resignations.

The meetings, Vanguard learnt, would deliberate on proposals to give definite party and national positions.

Part of the harmonisation process, is a proposal to swap all positions originally designated for the South-East, including the National Chairman, with those in the North-East.

Positions in the party presently held by the South-West are also expected to be swapped with those in the North-Central.

Convention, law, Sylva

At the meeting, the National Legal Adviser of the Party, Chief Olusola Oke, who heads the party’s Constitution Review Committee, is expected to table how far the committee has gone with its assignment ahead of the national convention.

A very senior member of NWC, who spoke with Vanguard, disclosed that the party will also x-ray the outlook of the party in some states where elections will soon be held. The states are Sokoto, Bayelsa, Adamawa, Cross River and Edo.

It was also gathered that the issue of embattled governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Timipre Sylva, would feature against the backdrop of his strong opposition to the stand of the leadership of the party.