By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor & Henry Umoru

LAGOS —  The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, was last night headed for a fresh crisis after the party’s National Working Committee, NWC, unilaterally canceled the scheduled Special National Convention expected to elect a new set of officers for the party.

President Goodluck Jonathan in a sharp reaction to the development, immediately summoned a meeting of senior party stakeholders today to deliberate on the latest development which party insiders said could fracture the party.

Chairman of the PDP Special National Convention Committee, Prof. Jerry Gana, contacted on the development, would not comment on the issue, saying he was yet to be formally informed.

His silence, not withstanding, other sources within the committee and the party were miffed by the development as they accused the National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, of triggering a crisis aimed at further dividing the party.

The decision to cancel the convention followed increasing divisions between the NWC and the Gana-led convention committee which was constituted by the party’s National Executive Committee, NEC, to supervise the national convention.

The convention was called, following the report of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on the PDP’s national convention of March 2012 which affirmed that the election of eight of the members of the 12-member NWC breached the party’s guidelines for the election of its national officers.