By Boluwaji Obahopo

LOKOJA—The meeting of National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Uche Secondus, to settle the rift in the Kogi State chapter of the party over plans to grant automatic ticket to some National Assembly members, ended in a deadlock, yesterday.

The meeting, at the private residence of the National Chairman in Abuja, also had Sunday Karimi exchanging words with Senator Dino Melaye, with the former accusing the latter of attempting to destroy the party in the state.

Dino Melaye

Similarly, it took the intervention of Secondus to end the exchange of words between T. J. Yusuf (Kabba/Bunu/Ijumu federal constituency) and Senator Attai Aidoko (Kogi East), as tempers rose beyond the control of the leader of the party in the state, Ibrahim Idris, who was in attendance.

Defection threat petition

The National Assembly aspirants from Kogi State had, in a petition, threatened to leave PDP if the national executive members went ahead with its plan to offer automatic ticket to the present National Assembly members, including those that recently returned to the party, insisting on a level-playing field for party primaries.

The meeting, yesterday, which was at the instance of the National Executives of PDP, ended without a compromise, as the aspirants all stood their grounds, warning that they would be on their way out of the party if such action scaled through.

While the National Executive of the party insisted that the plan to grant automatic ticket to the returning members was based on the signed MoU between PDP and R-APC, the aspirants insisted that it would amount to impunity as many of the National Assembly members were not on the ground, politically, in their districts.

Roll call

The meeting was attended by the National Secretary, National Organising Secretary and the National Publicity Secretary of the party, who is an indigenes of the state and about 30 aspirants, seeking election into the lower and upper chambers of the National Assembly.

Some of the aspirants at the meeting included Ahmed Ogembe, Sunday Karimi, Emma Egwu, Hassan Omale, Clarence Olafemi, Halima Alfa, T. J. Faniyi, Salaudeen Ganiyu, among others.