‘New PDP’, APC begin talks As the members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) warring factions converged today in Abuja to continue discussions on how to resolve the crisis that emanated from last Saturday’s special convention of the party, there are strong indications that the leadership of the breakaway faction, called the ‘new PDP’, may have commenced consultations with the All Progressives Congress(APC). This revelation came as some National Assembly members of PDP are expected to meet tomorrow, at an undisclosed location in Abuja, to discuss recent development within the party. An earlier meeting held on Monday night at the Presidential Villa to resolve the contending issues ended in a deadlock. The crises in the PDP came to a head when some governors on the platform of the party that included those of Adamawa, Kano, Jigawa, Kwara, Sokoto and Niger states, along with their supporters, stormed out of Eagle Square, Abuja, venue of the convention, led by the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, alleging unfair treatment and dictatorial tendencies of the PDP leadership under Alhaji Bamanga Tukur. The ‘new PDP’ has a former acting national chairman of the party, Alhaji Kawu Baraje, as its chairman, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, who was the former national secretary of the PDP was appointed as national scribe of the ‘new PDP’ and Dr. Sam Jaja was appointed as deputy national chairman. The development has caused a lot of concerns within the party, forcing the chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT), Tony Anenih, to quickly arrange a meeting of the major disputing actors with a view to bringing about the desired reconciliation. Addressing journalists at the end of the first leg of the meeting yesterday, Anenih said the meeting was smooth and would continue today. At the meeting were President Goodluck Jonathan and some of the aggrieved governors. But away from the peace initiative, the leaders of the ‘new PDP’ have commenced consultation with the APC, in Lagos. A source close to the Atiku-led faction of the party said: “We are in Lagos for consultation with other aggrieved party members. You can as well be sure that the consultation may as well include the APC since they are already coming up strong.” When asked what becomes of the Anenih-led initiative, he said: “I can assure you, there won’t be a headway as the governors are just making a mockery of the so-called peace move. We have made a resolve not to go back and on that we stand. There is no way we can continue with these oppressive and dictatorial tendencies of both President Goodluck Jonathan and BamangaTukur.” Meanwhile, some PDP National Assembly members would likely converge in Abuja at an undisclosed location to discuss the development within the party. A member, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, said the meeting became important to determine the party’s direction in view of the latest crisis facing it. He said: “We are meeting tomorrow (today) night to discuss this development. As major stakeholders, we cannot fold our arms in the face of this wrangling. We shall meet and arrive at a definite position, because we have a role to play in ensuring the stability of our democracy.” The APC governors had, in a reaction to the PDP break-up, expressed their support for the new faction of the party, saying “It must no doubt be a conscious decision that must have been borne out of commitment to make all the sacrifices needed to rescue our dear nation from the current reign of terror and bad governance.” Meanwhile, in its determination to effect a change in the PDP, the executives of the ‘new PDP’, led by Baraje, yesterday filed a case at the High Court of Lagos state, Ikeja Division, praying the court to stop the Bamanga Tukur-led executives from parading themselves as national officers of the party. The plaintiffs, Alhaji Abdullahi Kawu Baraje, Dr. Sam Sam Jaja, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola and the PDP also sought a motion ex-parte asking for leave to serve the defendants outside jurisdiction – Bamanga Tukur, National Chairman, Uche Secondus, National Deputy Chairman, Kema Chikwe, National Woman Leader and Olisah Metuh – National Publicity Secretary. In its ruling, the court granted the plaintiffs leave to serve the defendants in their various locations, but with regards to the matter of their illegality as members of the National Executive Committee of the party, the court said that there was no urgency as to the matter of who should hold what office and, therefore, directed that the status quo should be maintained. The court, equally, directed all parties to come back on Monday September 9, to argue the motion on notice.
Posted on: Wed, 04 Sep 2013 06:05:12 +0000