Even before it got off the drawing board, former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s plan to lead the peace moves in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has collapsed. The meeting of elders to resolve the party’s crises was slated for today in Abuja. It was “technically” called off last night at the Presidency’s prompting, according to ‘The Nation’. President Goodluck Jonathan, it was said, advised the elders to shun the meeting, following intelligence reports that Obasanjo was behind the crises. The former President could not be reached last night. Among the elders expected at the meeting are former chairmen and notable leaders. A pre-meeting session of some governors at the Rivers State Governor’s Lodge went on for hours last night. It was not clear what was discussed, but the news about Obasanjo’s mission may have been broken. “All was well, until this evening when we learnt the President was opposed to Obasanjo presiding at the meeting,” a source said, adding: “He believes that Obasanjo is the architect of the crises; he shouldn’t be called to settle it and be seen as a peacemaker.” The meeting slated for next Tuesday will hold. President Jonathan will preside. Brickbats continued to fly yesterday amid shaky efforts to rescue the PDP. A group loyal to President Jonathan also accused Obasanjo of being the architect of the crises. “He should call his associates in the Kawu Baraje faction of the party to order”, the Media Network for Transformation (MNT) said. The group said Obasanjo could not continue to be the hand of Esau and the voice of Jacob at the same time. In a statement in Abuja, signed by its Coordinator, Mr. Goodluck Ebelo, the MNT urged Obasanjo to either renounce his associates in the New PDP or be treated like those rated as rebels by the party. The group said “no arbiter, who is the guiding light of the rebels can make peace”. To the President’s camp, Obasanjo is the unseen hand pulling the string of crises in the ruling party. There is suspicion in the Presidency over his peace mission.
Posted on: Fri, 06 Sep 2013 07:17:51 +0000
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