Ahead of the meeting of the national caucus of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which took place last night in Abuja, President Goodluck Jonathan had directed the inclusion of six governors and three ministers into the national caucus of the party.
The meeting, which held at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, was expected to discuss the relationship between the executive and National Assembly, the restructuring of the party and the convening of the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting.
The last NEC meeting of the PDP took place in July 2012. However, the NEC is expected to hold quarterly.
The party’s constitution does not recognise state governors and ministers as members of the national caucus of the party, but their inclusion was carried out as part of the restructuring of the executive organs of the party.
However, the amended constitution of the party that is yet to be adopted had mandated the president to appoint six governors as members of national caucus.
The inclusion of the six governors and ministers is coming after the election of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the party that unanimously elected Chief Tony Anenih as the chairman and Governor Godswill Akpabio as the chairman of the newly formed PDP Governors’ Forum.
In a letter signed by the Chief of Staff to the President, Chief Mike Oghiadomhe, dated February 27, the president directed that Katsina State Governor, Ibrahim Shema, representing the Northwest; Benue state, Gabriel Suswam, representing North-central; Theodore Orji, representing the South-east; Emmanuel Uduaghan, representing South-south; and Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State from the North-east be invited to a national caucus meeting of the party.
Also invited to the meeting is the new chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum, Godswill Akpabio. There is no representation from the South-west, because there is no elected governor of the party from the zone.
The ministers that were invited are: Minister of Petroleum, Mrs. Dezani Alison Madueke, Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar, and Minister of Justice and the Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke.
According to the PDP constitution, the members of the national caucus include the National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, who shall preside over all national caucus meetings of the party.
Other members of the national caucus include the president and vice-president, if they are members of the party; the senate president, deputy senate president, Speaker of the House of Representatives and the deputy speaker, principal officers of the National Assembly, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, chairman of the BoT and the national secretary of the party, the national legal adviser and national treasurer, among other members of the party.
The constitution of the PDP specifies the duties of the national caucus to include the harmonisation of the relationship between the executive and the legislative arms of government and the coordination of their activities and those of the party. It also has the function of considering, reviewing and advising on policies and programmes of government.
A quorum of the national caucus can be formed when two-thirds of its members are in attendance.
THISDAY gathered that apart from the restructuring of the party, the national caucus meeting last night discussed the standoff between the executive and the National Assembly over their differences on the budget.