The 2016 PDP National Convention was held on Saturday, 21 May 2016 at the

Sharks Stadium Sharks Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Part of the Alfred Diete-Spiff Rivers State sports complex, it is used mostly for football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (footb ...

Port Harcourt Port Harcourt (Pidgin: ''Po-ta-kot or Pi-ta-kwa)'' is the capital and largest city of Rivers State in Nigeria. It is the fifth most populous city in Nigeria after Lagos, Kano, Ibadan and Benin. It lies along the Bonny River and is locate ...

Rivers State Rivers is a states of Nigeria, state in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria (Old Eastern Region). Formed on 27 May 1967, when it was split from the former Eastern Region, Nigeria, Eastern Region, Rivers State borders include Imo State, Im ...

. It marked the first time the National Convention took place outside

Abuja Abuja (; , ) is the capital city of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, strategically situated at the geographic midpoint of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory (FCT). As the seat of the Federal G ...

, Nigeria's federal capital. The convention drew delegates from the 36 states, as well as the 12 governors of the PDP, national and state assembly members, former governors,

Board of Trustees A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

members and former

National Working Committee The PDP National Working Committee, also known by its acronym NWC, is the Committee#Executive committee, executive committee of the People's Democratic Party (Nigeria), People's Democratic Party in Nigeria. The NWC is composed of 12 members, all o ...

members. Among those who graced the convention were the Deputy Senate President

Ike Ekweremadu Ike Ekweremadu (born 12 May 1962) is a Nigerian politician and a lawyer who hails from Enugu State and served in the Senate of Nigeria for Enugu West from 3 June 2003 to 5 May 2023 . He is a member of the People's Democratic Party, and was t ...

, Senator

Godswill Akpabio Chief Godswill Obot Akpabio (; born 9 December 1962) is a Nigerian lawyer and politician who is currently serving as the 10th president of the Nigerian Senate since 2023. He was first elected as Senator representing Akwa Ibom North-West Senat ...

and former Senate President

David Mark David Alechenu Bonaventure Mark (; born 8 April 1948) is a retired Nigerian Army brigadier general and politician. He served as the 12th president of the Nigerian Senate from 2007 to 2015 and was the Senator for Nigerian National Assembly dele ...

. Although well attended, incumbent acting chair of the National Working Committee

Ali Modu Sheriff Ali Modu Sheriff (born 1956) is a Nigerian politician who served as governor of Borno State from 2003 to 2011. He was the first governor to serve two consecutive terms. Though Sheriff had held two elected offices as a member of All Nigeria P ...

withdrew from the event earlier that day. Sheriff had announced a postponement of the convention over legal issues. This however didn't go down well with some members who declared that the convention must go on as scheduled. After Sheriff's departure, the convention simply continued.

Ahmed Makarfi Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi (born 8 August 1956) is a Nigerian politician who is a former chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (Nigeria), Peoples Democratic Party. He was governor of Kaduna State from 29 May 1999 to 29 May 2007, and was elected S ...

, a former governor, was appointed alongside 6 others to replace Sheriff and the NWC in a caretaker capacity. They will run the affairs of the party until a National Working Committee is elected within 90 days.

Convention Committee

The Convention Committee was set up on 5 April 2016 to help plan, organize and coordinate the event. Members of the executive include

Ezenwo Nyesom Wike Ezenwo Nyesom Wike (born 13 December 1964) is a Nigerian politician and lawyer who has served as the minister of the Federal Capital Territory since 2023. He previously served as the governor of Rivers State from 2015 to 2023. He is an Ikw ...

(Chairman), Darius Ishaku (Deputy Chairman) and

Dave Umahi David Nweze Umahi (born 25 July 1963) is a Nigerian politician who serves as the minister of works of Nigeria. He previously served as the senator representing Ebonyi South senatorial district from June to August 2023, and as the governor of E ...

(Secretary). The committee's inaugural meeting was held at Government House, Port Harcourt on 9 April 2016. The meeting had 17 of its prominent members in attendance.

National Caretaker Committee

The setting up of a Caretaker Committee to manage the affairs of the party prior to the election of a new National Working Committee was approved by delegates present at the convention venue. Chairperson of the Committee is former governor,

while the Secretary is Ben Obi. Other members of the Committee include: Odion Ugbesia (Financial, Treasury and Audit), Prince Dayo Adeyeye (Publicity), Abdul Ningi (Organization and Mobilization), Aisha Aliyu (Women and Youth) and Barrister Kabiru Usman (Legal).

References

{{reflist 2010s in Rivers State 21st century in Port Harcourt Conventions in Rivers State Events in Port Harcourt Peoples Democratic Party (Nigeria) 2016 in Nigerian politics May 2016 in Nigeria

Convention Committee

National Caretaker Committee

See also

References