PDP overrules OBJ on Tambuwal •Says he remains Speaker

FOLLOWING renewed call by the chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo,
for the office of Speaker of the House of Representatives to be returned to the South-West  in line with the original zoning formula of the party, its acting national chairman, Alhaji Abubakar Baraje, has said that the party will not revisit the issue.
He has also cleared the way for former Governors  Gbenga Daniel and Ayo Fayose to return to the PDP if they so wished, as long as they satisfied the stipulated criteria for re-entry.
The party boss, who spoke on Thursday at the national secretariat of the party in Abuja in his maiden press briefing since assuming office, also said that the party was hopeful of registering about 40 million members in the ongoing membership registration and revalidation exercise.
He said the party had accepted Honourable Tambuwal from the North-West zone as the Speaker of the House of Representatives, especially as he admitted that an error was committed in his emergence but had apologised for it.
Chief Obasanjo had insisted recently in Abeokuta that the issue of speakership must be addressed or the South-West would lose greater things in future.
The party chairman also indicated that the party had not foreclosed the return of Daniel and Fayose or any other interested former party member to the PDP fold as long as they were able to meet the requirements of the party.
The acting chairman, who explained the aim of the ongoing registration and revalidation exercise, said the PDP was targeting about 40 million members in the exercise which he said was open to all interested Nigerians.
Baraje said that the decision “to open up our party’s register is informed by the need to afford teeming admirers and supporters throughout the country, the opportunity to join the PDP formally and participate actively in the national transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan and the PDP.
“It is also borne out of the need to update our membership register and provide a level playing field for all those who wish to utilise the vast opportunities and advantages that the PDP offers to our members, supporters and admirers,” he added.
While pointing out that the exercise has gone on smoothly around the country, Baraje clarified the purpose of the exercise, saying “the ongoing membership exercise is open to all Nigerians from 18 years and above who fulfil the criteria for membership of our party. It is also an opportunity for current members to revalidate and renew their membership of our great party. It is not intended as a witch-hunt or to exclude anybody from our party.
“For the avoidance of doubt, our executives at all levels must be informed in clear terms that this is not a de-registration exercise, nor is it an opportunity for anyone to whimsically deny any Nigerian who is willing and ready to join our party.
“The registration project is conceived in the all-inclusive philosophy of the PDP and must be insulated from selfish interests and unwarranted controversies by uninformed and overzealous persons who may try to create unnecessary obstacles to those who genuinely want to be part of our party,” he warned.