The Cross River State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party said it will resist any imposition of the state working committee members by the national working committee.

The party’s state Chairman, Venatius Ikem, spoke on Friday in Calabar, while reacting to the purported dissolution of the state working committee.

Mr Ikem, in a statement, noted that the purported dissolution was a ploy to create ways for the emergence of the predetermined candidates in the scheduled September 27 congress.

The NWC, through a statement by the PDP National Publicity Secretary had, on Thursday, dissolved the Cross River State SWC.

Attributing the dissolution to tenure expiration of the Ikem-led SWC, the statement directed the South-South caretaker committee to take over the affairs and conduct the September 27 state congress.

However, Ikem noted that the present SWC was inaugurated on Sept. 29, 2021, and thus had until September 29, 2025, to complete their four-year tenure in office.

Mr Ikem added, “This is the reason why the NWC fixed September 27 for the Cross River State congress.’’

He noted that the NWC did not convene or held a meeting where a decision to dissolve the Cross River SWC was taken.

He stated, “We challenge any of its members to tell us where such a meeting was held. The PDP constitution (as Amended) has never approved chats on social media platforms as “meetings” of the party.

He said that the party stipulated a genuine channel for convening its NWC meetings on crucial issues such as this, or any one for that matter.

Mr Ikem described the purported dissolution as illegal, and a deliberate attempt to install unpopular state executive committee who would not win legitimately in the September 27 state congress.

According to him, it’s a deliberate abuse of office and an affront to the party’s constitution.

He said that the action of NWC, purporting to be acting on behalf of the party national executive committee, was a complete abuse of powers.

Mr Ikem, therefore, urged supporters to remain law-abiding, saying the party would not allow its enemies to use the NWC instrumentality to derail its progress in the state.

(NAN)