In
spite of the troubleshooting efforts of President Goodluck Jonathan and
former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the faction of the Peoples
Democratic Party led by Alhaji Abubakar Baraje has said it will not
abandon its mission to salvage the PDP.
To prove its seriousness, the faction
known as the New PDP, has gone to a Lagos High Court in Ikeja, seeking
to stop officials of the National Working Committee of the Bamanga
Tukur-led faction from parading themselves as members of the National
Executive Committee of the party.
Besides the suit which was heard on
Monday by Justice Ganiyu Safari, and adjourned till Monday, September
9, the New PDP will on Tuesday (today) open a parallel secretariat at
the Maitama District of Abuja.
In the suit, the plaintiffs – Baraje,
Dr. Sam Jaja, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola and the PDP – asked the
court to restrain Tukur, Prince Uche Secondus, Mrs. Kema Chikwe, Olisah
Metuh and others from parading themselves as PDP NEC members.
The plaintiffs, according to a
statement by Oyinlola, who is the national secretary of the faction,
also sought a motion exparte, asking for the leave of the court to
serve the defendants outside their jurisdiction.
They said in the statement which was
made available to journalists in Abuja on Monday, that the court
granted them leave to serve the defendants in their various locations.
On the claim by the faction that the
NWC officials parade themselves as NEC members, the court said
there was no urgency as to the fact of who should hold what office. It
then directed that the status quo be maintained till September 9
when their arguments on the motion on notice would be heard.
“What this means is that in the
meantime, both executive committees are to remain until the court
resolves the matter,” the statement explained.
Before the statement was made public,
the Baraje faction which has a former Vice-President, Alhaji Atiku
Abubakar, and Governors Sule Lamido (Jigawa); Babangida Aliyu (Niger);
Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto); Abdulfatai Ahmed (Kwara); Rotimi Amaechi
(Rivers); and Rabiu Kwakwanso (Kano) as some of its key leaders, had
said that it was encouraged by the overwhelming support it had been
receiving across the country.
Because of this, the group said in another statement by Oyinlola, that it would not abandon its mission of rescuing the party.
The statement reads in part, “Alhaji
Baraje and other leaders of the party appreciate the overwhelming
outpouring of support and encouragement from genuine members and leaders
of the party across the country. We assure them that we will not
disappoint them in the mission to make the PDP work again in the
interest of Nigeria and its people.
“We also appreciate the efforts of
leaders of the party, particularly President Jonathan and former
President Obasanjo who, we note, have scheduled a meeting of the party
elders for this week.
“We respect the elders and will be guided by them.”
Baraje had earlier on Monday told an online news agency on
the telephone that the parallel secretariat of the New PDP was
equipped with “the needed paraphernalia of office” ahead of its opening
on Tuesday.
“Our plan is to address the media and
announce the names of other members of our National Working Committee at
our own secretariat,” he added, declining to give the exact address
of the secretariat in Abuja.
If the faction opens the secretariat,
it would be the second time in PDP’s history that it would split into
two groups, each operating from separate secretariats.
A group led by Lar, and a former
Deputy National Chairman, Shuaib Oyedokun, had on June 9, 2006
formed a parallel faction after accusing the then Ahmadu Ali-led
leadership of sidelining many founding members.
The group then proceeded to open a new
secretariat in the Jabi District of Abuja. The Obasanjo
administration promptly deployed security agents to seal the
secretariat.
A meeting on Sunday night between
Jonathan and the PDP governors, including Aliyu, and Ahmed over the
factionalisation of the party had ended in a deadlock.
A top source in Abuja, who disclosed
this, said the meeting, which would continue at the Presidential
Villa in Abuja on Tuesday (today), might also end in a deadlock.
“This is why the elders or leaders
would meet in Abuja on Thursday to chart a new course and see if they
could achieve anything new,” he stated.
The PUNCH learnt that the
elders’ meeting which is being convened by Obasanjo would have among
others, a former Vice-President, Alex Ekwueme, a former Chairman of the
party, Chief Solomon Lar, and former military President Ibrahim
Babangida in attendance.
Obasanjo had on Sunday implored the
two factions to “maintain the status quo” while efforts were being
made by the elders to broker a truce.
The Tukur-led faction however said on
Monday that it would make its position on the action of the G-7 and
Abubakar known at the end of its consultations.
Its National Publicity Secretary ,
Chief Metuh, said after the inaugural meeting of the newly
constituted NWC in Abuja that, “Consultations are going on at the
highest level of this party. The President, national chairman of our
party, the chairman BoT and the PDP governors are meeting on this and
their discussions so far have been very encouraging.”
PUNCH
No comments:
Post a Comment