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| Abubakar Baraje |
THE
crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party has continued to defy all peace
moves as the Abubakar Baraje-led faction on Monday announced the
appointment of more members into its National Working Committee.
The announcement by the National
Secretary of the faction, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, came barely 72
hours after the police laid siege to their secretariat in Abuja.
It also coincided with the boycott of
a meeting convened by the National Chairman of the PDP, Dr. Bamanga
Tukur, in Abuja on Monday by 17 state chairmen of the party.
President Goodluck Jonathan is
expected to continue his peace talks with all the governors elected
on the PDP platform at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Tuesday
(today).
But Oyinlola, in a statement in Abuja, said the stakeholders of the New PDP across the country had ratified the election of members of the NWC.
Apart from Baraje, who is the NWC
chairman and Dr Sam Sam Jaja, deputy national chairman, Maode
Hiliya was named the deputy national secretary; Timi Frank, national
youth leader; and Mrs. Binta Koje, national woman leader.
Others are Mallam Nasir Issa, national
organising secretary ;
Chief Chukwuemeka Eze, national publicity secretary; Aliyu Wadada,
national financial secretary; and Mallam Tanko Gomna, national
treasurer.
Oyinlola however did not say when and where the NWC members were elected.
Also on Monday, Tukur hosted 19 state
chairmen of the PDP and their Federal Capital Territory counterpart in
his bid to win their support against the Baraje-led group.
It was learnt that the majority of the
17 state chairmen that stayed away from the meeting attended the
PDP post-convention dinner, which was held at the Presidential Villa in
Abuja on Sunday night.
Before the dinner, all the state
chairmen had also met at the Agura Hotel, Abuja where discussions were
held on the party’s crisis.
The chairmen that were absent from
the meeting with Tukur were those of Kano, Sokoto, Kwara, Niger,
Jigawa, Abia, Enugu, Ebonyi, Imo, Anambra, Taraba, Kebbi, Borno, Bauchi,
Delta, Edo and Bayelsa states.
In attendance were chairmen from
Zamfara, Kaduna, Katsina, Oyo, Cross River, Adamawa, Yobe, Ekiti, Benue,
Kogi, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Nasarawa, Ondo, Lagos, Gombe, Ogun, Osun and
Plateau states and the FCT.
The Chairman of the Conference of the
PDP State Chairmen, Dr. Emmanuel Agbo, confirmed to journalists that
some of his colleagues who were absent from the meeting attended the
post-convention dinner.
He said some of the chairmen from states
such as Bayelsa, Enugu, Edo and Ebonyi sent apologies that they were
returning to their respective states on Monday morning.
He said, “The decisions we took at the
meeting were endorsed by our colleagues, whether present or not. But if
you doubt me, I can call and put them on the speaker phone.”
At the meeting, Tukur said it was only the PDP that could guarantee Nigeria’s unity and that of the entire Africa.
He said, “Today, no party in Nigeria
has spread like PDP and that means that people accept our party. It
means also that it is a big responsibility, hence the people believe
there must be equity and justice. I am analogue, while you are digital.
I will give you wisdom to tackle tomorrow and we believe that every
member of the party has the right to express himself. But the majority
will always have their way while minority will have their say.”
The National Publicity Secretary of the
PDP Chief Olisa Metuh, said the election of a parallel NWC by the
Baraje-led faction was a mockery of the peace process.
Metuh added that it was sad that the faction decided to continue its “rebelling behaviour” in spite of the peace process.
He said, “I think it’s a mockery of the peace process. As it is now, we don’t know how serious this is.
“The party will meet and review its
position accordingly. We will meet and consider the current happenings
and review our position and what we need to do in the circumstance.”
The PUNCH has however learnt that
the Presidency has concluded plan to render five of the seven ‘rebel’
governors ineffective in their states by sacking the executives of the
party in their states.
The states concerned are Kwara, Kano, Jigawa, Sokoto and Niger.
The decision was said to have been
reached by the three strategic committees set up by Jonathan to look
into the crisis in the party.
Sources said that the President was
of the opinion that reconciliation had failed between him, the party
elders and the ‘rebel’ governors.
The governors are Sule
Lamido(Jigawa); Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto); Rabiu Kwakwanso (Kano);
Aliyu Babangida (Niger); and Abdulfatah Ahmed(Kwara).
A Presidency source told journalists
on Monday evening, that the expected submission of the report of the
elders committtee headed by former President Olusegun Obasanjo might be a
mere formality.
He said, “It is the view of the
committees that we needed to use carrot and stick before and it was
apparent that that has failed.
“So, what we would do now is the stick
approach. The world knows that the governors are fighting us and we
need not to pretend anymore that we are not together.
“That is why we opted for the complete dissolution of the state executive committees of at least five of the states.”
The executive committees of the party
in Rivers and Adamawa states have since been taken from the governors
and handed over to those considered as protégés of the Presidency.
The governors of the two states, Rotimi
Amaechi and Murtala Nyako, are also believed to be against the second
term ambition of President Jonathan.
When contacted, the Special Adviser to
the President on Political Matters, Dr. Ahmed Gulak, said, “It’s not the
President that runs the party. Please direct your enquiry to the
national secretariat of the PDP.”
Jonathan is, however, expected to meet with all the PDP governors in Abuja on Tuesday (today).
The meeting is coming ahead of an
alleged disagreement of members of the Elders Committee of the party,
headed by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
The elders met with all the factions of the party in Abuja on Friday, with the aim of resolving the crisis.
Apart from Obasanjo, others at the
meeting were former military President Ibrahim Babangida; ex-
chairmen of the PDP, Dr. Ahmadu Ali and Sen. Barnabas Gemade; as well
as the Chairman, Board of Trustees, Chief Tony Anenih.
Another former Chairman of the party,
Chief Solomon Lar, and an ex-BoT Chairman, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, were
absent at the meeting as they were said to have travelled outside the
country.
Two of the elders at the meeting were said to have disagreed with some of the recommendations made in their report.
Meanwhile, a former Vice-President,
Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has asked the Inspector-General of Police,
Abubakar Muhammed, to withdraw policemen from the secretariat of the New PDP in Abuja.
Abubakar, who is currently in China
leading a private economic trade mission at the invitation of the
Chinese government, issued a statement declaring that the police
invasion on the secretariat was borne out of intolerance.
The statement reads in part, “While it
is embarrassing that the police have yet to give a reason on why they
are laying siege to a political party office, the whole world knows
these are acts prompted by unscrupulous politicians, who do not even
have the moral conscience not to involve the police in politics.
“I call on the leadership of the
Nigerian Police, especially its Inspector-General, to steer clear of
political entanglements, and immediately vacate our party’s office. Our
national law enforcement priority must be the safety and security of
Nigerians, not politics.”
The former Vice-President said it was
embarrassing that in a week when a top Christian clergy, a top lawyer
and senior advocate and countless others were being held captive by
kidnappers, the Police could muster the resources to seal the
headquarters of the New PDP in negation of a court order.”
By the latest behaviour of the police ,
the former Vice-President said, the IG had become openly and
overzealously partisan over the internal crisis of the PDP.
PUNCH
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