ANTI-PARTY ACTIVITIES… Crisis Brews In PDP Over Disciplinary Committee

The friction within the former ruling Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), worsened yesterday as former Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, threatened to sue the party’s National Disciplinary Committee for subjecting him to public ridicule.

The former governor accused the Chief Tom Ikimi-led committee of causing him reputational harm after it summoned him to clarify anti-party allegations leveled against him by petitioners.

Ortom, therefore, demanded a written apology from the Tom Ikimi-led committee in a widely publicized statement within 48 hours.

The former governor warned that failing to do so would result in him instituting a defamation lawsuit and petitioning law enforcement agencies for violations of the Cybercrimes Act 2015 by the committee.

He further warned the committee to cease and desist from any further public commentary on the matter concerning him until he had been formally notified of any allegations and given an opportunity to respond.

Ortom made the demand in a letter written by his lawyer, C.T. Mue, Esq., dated February 11, 2025, and sent to the committee, which resumed sitting yesterday.

Recall that on February 5, the Ikimi-led committee had invited Ortom, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, and others to appear before it yesterday.

However, Ortom and Anyanwu, shortly after the committee’s invitation, declared they had not been officially invited by the panel.

The summons came shortly after the PDP Governors and the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT) mandated the National Working Committee (NWC) to recognize Hon. Sunday Ude-Okoye as national secretary.

The current tussle reflects the larger battle for the party’s soul, including an agitation by the North Central zone to produce the national chairman and the rift over the control of Rivers PDP.

However, Ortom, responding to the panel’s invitation through his legal representatives, faulted it for issuing a statement connecting him with investigations into petitions against him.

Ortom’s lawyer, Mue, said, “Our attention has been drawn to the press release issued by the National Disciplinary Committee (NDC) of the PDP dated February 5, 2025, which publicly announced an inquiry into alleged petitions against our client.

“This public notice has caused reputational harm and violates fundamental principles as enshrined in Section 57 of the PDP Constitution 2017 (as amended) and Section 24 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act 2015, as follows:

“Violation of Section 57(4); Section 57(4) of the PDP Constitution mandates that when an allegation is made against a member, the Disciplinary Committee must inform the member in writing about the allegations against them, as well as the date, time, and venue of the hearing.”

He added that despite this clear provision, Ortom was not formally notified of any allegations in writing before the press release was issued, which constituted a gross violation of the PDP Constitution.

He continued, “Violation of Section 57(7); Section 57(7) of the PDP Constitution clearly states that no Executive Committee at any level, except the National Executive Committee (NEC), shall entertain any question of discipline relating to members of the National Executive Committee, National Assembly, deputy governors, or members.”

Noting that he falls under the above categories, Ortom stated that the panel lacks the jurisdiction to entertain any disciplinary action against him, making the purported inquiry procedurally defective and unconstitutional.

He further cited Violation of Section 24 of the Cybercrimes Act 2015:

“The Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act 2015, in Section 24(1)(b), criminalizes the intentional transmission of false or misleading information that causes annoyance, inconvenience, or damage to a person’s reputation.”

According to the lawyer, the premature publication of allegations against Ortom, without being duly informed as provided by Section 57(4) of the PDP Constitution 2017 (as amended), has led to public ridicule and reputational harm.

“In light of the above, we hereby demand the following: that the National Disciplinary Committee immediately withdraw the press release issued on February 5, 2025; that a written apology be issued to our client within 48 hours of receiving this notice; and that the National Disciplinary Committee cease and desist from further public commentary on our client’s matter until they have been formally notified of any allegations and given an opportunity to respond.”

He warned that if the demands are not met within 48 hours from receipt of this letter, his client would have no choice but to seek redress in a court of law, including instituting a defamation lawsuit and petitioning law enforcement agencies for violations of the Cybercrimes Act 2015.

In a related development, the Benue State Chapter of the PDP has also written to the disciplinary committee, stating that the petitioner(s) against Ortom are not known party members.

Benue State PDP Chairman, Hon. Ezekiel Adaji, who signed the letter, said, “Since the petition has been copied to the ‘Benue State PDP Caretaker Committee,’ which is now the State Working Committee of the party under my leadership, although no copy of the petition has been served on me or the Benue State Working Committee, I perused the said petition and do hereby observe as follows: there is no group of the PDP in Benue State known as ‘Benue PDP Youths Conscience’; that the people who have signed the petition have not identified themselves as members of the PDP and are unknown to the PDP Benue State Chapter; that the petition has not specified the acts consisting of the alleged anti-party activities, and so on.”

He requested, among other things, that the petitioners provide evidence of their party membership, if any, to enable the Disciplinary Committee to ascertain the propriety of their petition.

Meanwhile, the Ikimi-led Committee adjourned its sitting for two weeks to allow Ortom and Anyanwu to prepare for their appearance.