*Describes report as unfounded and baseless

By Tony Edike

ENUGU—THE embattled leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Enugu State chapter, yesterday, dismissed insinuations that the conflict that led to the dissolution of the state executive committee of the party was a result of alleged granting of automatic ticket to its members serving at the National and State Assemblies for re-election.

In a statement signed by the State Publicity Secretary of the party, Dr. Okey Eze, the party said in spite of repeated denials and explanations by its leadership that it had never contemplated granting automatic ticket to any member for any reason, some “mischievous and desperate politicians” whom it described as non-PDP members had continued to make unnecessary case out of it to destabilize and blackmail the party and its government in the state.

The statement reads: “We, therefore, wish to state categorically, once again, that neither the state chapter of the party nor the state governor has granted automatic ticket to any serving member of the national and state legislatures from the state in the forthcoming primaries of the party as falsely speculated in the media.

“Rather, we have put all machineries in motion, in line with the Constitution of the party, to create an enabling environment and a process that will guarantee credible party primaries to the satisfaction of all aspirants.”

Continuing, the party said:  “The false insinuation that there is crisis in Enugu State chapter of the party is also unfounded and baseless.

“The obvious fact remains that there is no crisis in PDP, Enugu State. It is on record that since the acceptance and subsequent implementation of the recommendations of the Senator Jim Nwobodo’s Peace and Reconciliation Committeeon Enugu State PDP (as fallout of the 2008 State Congress) by the National Working Committee of the party under the then leadership of Prince Vincent Ogbulafor, steady peace has remained in PDP, Enugu State.

“Interestingly, the South East National Vice Chairman, Chief Olisa Metuh, in an interview with the Sun Newspaper on Tuesday, November 2, 2010, page 26, also acknowledged that there is peace in PDP Enugu State, both administratively and politically, revealing that ‘some people want some adjustments in the party.

“From the above revelation, it is now obvious that those who are desperately calling for a fresh congress in Enugu State, where there is a duly constituted Executive Committee, are only interested in taking an undue advantage of the influence of the national chairman to unconstitutionally hijack the party structure through manipulation.”