Despite the security siege to its national secretariat, the Abubakar Baraje-led Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday ratified the election of its national officers. A statement by the National Secretary of the new PDP, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, said stakeholders of the party across the country at a meeting in Abuja had ratified the election of members of its National Working Committee.

According to the statement, the NWC members are Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje (Chairman), Dr. Sam Jaja (Deputy National Chairman), Oyinlola (National Secretary), Hon. Maode Umar Hiliya (Deputy National Secretary). Others are Mr. Timi Frank (National Youth Leader), Hon. Binta Koje (National Woman Leader), Mallam Nasir Issa (National Organising Secretary), Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze (National Publicity Secretary), Hon. Wadada (National Financial Secretary), Mallam Tanko Isiaku Gomna (National Treasurer).

The statement added that "the positions of National Auditor and that of National Legal Adviser which are zoned to the South-East and the South-West respectfully will be announced soon." But the Baraje-led PDP suffered a setback yesterday as an Ikeja High Court refused to grant an oral application seeking the reopening of its secretariat in Abuja sealed up by the police. Justice Ganiyu Safari, who declined to grant the plea, held that the oral application made by counsel to the claimants, Mr. Robert Emukpoeruo, lacked substantial evidence to prove that the Tukur-led group directed the police to seal up the New PDP secretariat on Saturday.

The judge said: "I am of the view that if the claimants have evidence showing that the defendants, apart from being members of PDP, have overriding authority on the police, the claimants should join them as a party to respond but they have actually failed to do so.

"This court, however, will not take lightly any violation of its order by any of the parties involved in the case. The allegation that there has been a violation of the status quo ante order in this case does not hold.

There must be evidence of such before the court can grant such relief as being sought by the claimants." It directed both parties to maintain the status quo ante pending the determination of the reliefs sought by the claimants On September 2, Baraje, Jaja, Oyinlola, and the National Executive Committee, NEC, of the New PDP had asked the court to restrain Tukur, Uche Secondus, Mrs. Kema Chikwe and Olisa Metuh who are National Chairman, Deputy National Chairman, National Woman Leader and National Publicity Secretary of the PDP respectively from parading themselves as executive members of the party.

At the resumed hearing of the suit yesterday, the counsel to the claimants, Emukpoeruo, insisted that the defendants had indeed breached the order of the court on the maintenance of the status quo ante by mobilising the police officers to seal up the secretariat.

He argued that despite the order granted "by your Lordship on September 2, 2013, asking both parties in the case to maintain the status quo, yet the defendants still resort to self-help by using the police to seal up the office of the claimants' on Saturday, September 7, 2013." He noted that since the event happened on September 7, which was after the September 2 order to maintain the status quo ante was made, it meant a violation of the court's order. The counsel added that when such happened, the court had the right to restore both parties to the situation the parties were as at September 2 when the order was given.

Emukpoeruo said: "We ask your Lordship to order the removal of their Armoured Personnel Carrier out of the premises of the claimants' offices."

However, the defendants' counsel, Mr. Ajibola Oluyede, said Emukpoeruo's argument was nothing short of "emotional outburst". He argued that the claimants' counsel failed to tender any evidence to back up his argument and present copies of the newspapers' reports being relied on in the affidavit supporting his application. "This application is self-defeating because the assumption that the claimants' office was sealed up by police showed that there is no evidence to link the closure with the defendants.

"It must also be noted that the police has statutory duty under the Police Act and can use its discretion in the performance of its duty which cannot be usurped by anyone or institution," the lawyer said.

Oluyede noted that if there was anyone who had contravened the status quo ante, it was the claimants themselves, adding that despite the court order and the national congress of the PDP which was held and the election of executive officers, a group of disgruntled members went to the press. This group, he said, had continuously paraded and addressed themselves as national officers of the party even when they were not. The judge thereafter adjourned the matter till September 17 for hearing of the preliminary objection filed by the defendants.

The peace talks between President Goodluck Jonathan and the aggrieved PDP governors, Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano), Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto), Murtala Nyako (Adamawa) and Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara) continue today. It is not clear if Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi will be attending the peace parley. The peace talks were postponed last week at the request of the aggrieved governors of the party who stormed out of the venue of the party's special national convention on August 31.

As at the last meeting held on September1, the governors had reportedly demanded for the removal of Tukur and that the President must honour his oneterm agreement not to seek re-election in 2015 as conditions for peace.

Chairman of the party's Board of Trustees, BoT, Chief Tony Anenih, said that the peace talks with the aggrieved governors would continue today after selected party elders had met with former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Friday as part of wider consultations demanded by parties to the crisis.

He disclosed that the aggrieved governors told the Presidency and the PDP leadership that they needed more time to make wider consultations, just as he said the Presidency and the PDP leadership were not averse to wider consultations. He explained that the Presidency and PDP leadership were taking advantage of the postponement to also consult widely on how to amicably resolve the crisis.

And as a fallout to the crisis rocking the party, 17 PDP state chairmen yesterday shunned the courtesy visit by the Conference of PDP State Chairmen to the party's National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, where they pledged total loyalty to the party's leadership. Chief among the state chairmen absent at the meeting with Tukur are those loyal to the aggrieved governors, including Kano, Kwara, Sokoto, Niger and Jigawa.

Also absent are the chairmen from the five South-East states –Enugu, Anambra, Abia, Ebonyi and Imo. Other states include Edo, Delta, Bauchi, Taraba, Kebbi, Borno and Sokoto. However, factional chairmen of Adamawa and Rivers states, Joel Madaki and Felix Obuah, represented their states.

The states whose chairmen attended the press conference include Zamfara, Kaduna, Katsina, Oyo, Cross River, Adamawa, Yobe, Ekiti, Benue, Kogi, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Nasarawa, Ondo, Lagos, Gombe, Ogun, Osun, FCT and Plateau. The conference said that they were totally behind the leadership of Tukur as the PDP national chairman.

The state chairmen also said that the crisis in the party could not affect their support for President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015, adding that "we do not believe in any approach that would stampede the smooth running of our great party, especially so when external influence is being insinuated."

The position of the state chairmen was contained in a communiqué signed by their Chairman, Emmanuel Agbo, and read at a press conference at the national secretariat of the PDP in Abuja. The state chairmen also faulted members of the party for expressing personal grievances without due process, stressing that "we appreciate the genuine efforts being put together by our party elders at dousing tension within the party, and we urge them not to relent."

Agbo, however, said the communique enjoyed the support of the 37 state chairmen, especially those of the aggrieved governors, adding that there was constant correspondence among the chairmen over the position of the conference. Asked whether the chairmen from the aggrieved states supported the position contained in communiqué, he said: "It is when they say they are not in agreement with us, that is when you will have issues with us."

He boasted that he could put any of the chairmen on speaker phone to confirm his claim, explaining that the chairmen of the South- East left yesterday morning before the conference because they had issues to attend including election. However, Tukur said the unity of Nigeria could only be guaranteed under the PDP. He said: "Only PDP can guarantee the unity of Nigeria. It is only the PDP that can guarantee the integration of sub-region."

The embattled chairman, while addressing the chairmen who paid him a solidarity visit after they had earlier briefed the press, thanked the state chairmen for standing up for equity and justice within the party.

Meanwhile, President Jonathan has said that there will not be democracy in Nigeria without the PDP, stressing that despite some disagreements, the party remains intact. Jonathan, who spoke at a post special convention dinner held at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa on Sunday, described the disagreements within the party as very minor, saying that the crisis would be resolved. He said the dinner was a partial fulfilment of the party's decision to encourage periodic meeting to interact with party members across states and at different cadre for them to bond with each other.

He said: "In any human institution, there must be disagreements. What happened (the factional PDP) is a minor disagreement that can be solved. "For those who have issues, we thank the elders and governors who had met and listened to them, we are committed to resolving our differences."