…Urges leadership to pursue peace within party
BEVERLY HILLS, CA, October 28, (THEWILL) – The Kawu Baraje-led National Working Committee (NWC) of the New Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP) rose from its caucus meeting in Abuja at the weekend with a commendation for its leader, Baraje, for exhibiting quality and purposeful leadership since their election.
It however condemned what it described as the ongoing persecution of its members by President Goodluck Jonathan-led Administration.
The meeting attended by the New PDP stakeholders also urged the team not to relent until the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is restored to the right path of democracy and civilised conduct unlike “the draconian style of leadership being exhibited by the Alh. Bamanga Tukur faction of the party. ”
It reviewed the events that preceded the formation of the party to stop what it described as some of the undemocratic acts and impunity associated with the Tukur leadership .
It also took stock of all the efforts by members of the group to assist in putting the PDP back to a democratic path as envisioned and envisaged by the founding fathers of the party and commended members for staying so faithful to the goals, vision and mission of the historical step it took by walking out of what it called the ill-conceived and flawed August, 2013 Special Convention of PDP.
The meeting also enlarged the mobilisation/contact committee of the party to include more sitting Governors and Ex-Governors and mandated it to explore other options available to the party should the dialogue with President Jonathan fail to yield any positive result for its future political activity.
The Committee is expected also to liaise with the new five other PDP Governors and other leaders that have indicated interest to join the group and to submit their report during the next meeting of the Caucus that will hold in a week’s time to ascertain how the new members would be received by the party.
The meeting also set up a Fund/Finance Committee mandated to source for extra funds to run the party.
The meeting reviewed all court cases involving the party so far and advised the legal team to ensure that the cases are professionally handled and ensure success in all the cases involving the party henceforth.
The meeting reviewed all the peace meetings so far held with President Jonathan and the Tukur faction of the party and commended its Governors for the maturity they have exhibited in the course of the meetings, saying even though all the issues it raised and presented through the General Olusegun Obasanjo-led Elders Committee to President Jonathan and his team have been bluntly turned down.
A statement issued by the National Publicity Secretary, NPDP, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, said the meeting noted with sadness that instead of President Jonathan to critically examine and act on some of the issues raised by the party, “our members in various States of the Federation are being persecuted, humiliated through the unfair use of State powers, arrested and put into prison as is the case in Baylesa and Gombe States just to demonstrate its disdain for peace and plot to destroy the party. ”
The statement noted further: “To further demonstrate that they don’t want peace in the party, Tukur has continued with his hidden agenda by setting up parallel chapters in states where he has nobody backing him to ensure that PDP is destroyed without any remedy. Some of the demands presented by our Governors include the need to reverse the impunity in Rivers State, where a sitting Governor was suspended from the party against the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the PDP Constitution, and refusing to uphold the result of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum election that saw Governor Amaechi winning 19 to 16 votes against Governor Jang.
“Others include our request for the removal of Alh. Bamanga Tukur as our party National Chairman knowing his flawed election as our party Chairman, and ending the impunity in Adamawa State, among other demands that will put PDP in a strong position as a political party but for reasons not to clear to some of us failed to receive the blessing of Mr. President. To us, we see all these as attempts by the Tukur’s faction to destroy the party seeing that they have no stake in the party anymore.
“The meeting thanked both the international media, the media in Nigeria, including social media, for not only showing interest in our plight and efforts to restore normalcy in our polity but also for demonstrating unalloyed commitment in presenting the facts about our struggle. Their support and the courage God has given us have being the source of our strength all these while. We urge the media not to relent as this is a collective struggle for the future of our country.
“The meeting vehemently condemned the deployment of the Police to the vicinity of the Sokoto Governor’s Lodge, Abuja, with a view to scuttling the Caucus Meeting, not knowing that the Sokoto Governor’s Lodge was used as a decoy since we’re well aware of the evil mentality of our opponents.
“This is the same Police that cannot find a solution to the menace of Boko Haram, kidnapping and other security challenges of the country but now used to harass innocent unarmed civilians like our members!
“The meeting concluded that by urging our Governors to continue to pursue peace within the party in the hope that President Jonathan and Tukur’s faction would stop the persecution of the party faithful and allow common reason to prevail in our efforts to restore peace to our party but should all our efforts to restore peace to the party fail, Nigerians should know those to hold responsible for the destruction of PDP come the 2015 general election. ”
The meeting, which rose with a resolution to reconvene in a week’s time at a venue to be communicated to members, was attended by New PDP chieftains including Governors Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso (Kano); Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto); Murtala Nyako (Adamawa); Chibuike Amaechi (Rivers); Sule Lamido (Jigawa); former governors Adamu Aliero (Kebbi State); Bukola Saraki (Kwara State); Danjuma Goje (Gombe State); and Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa State).Others included the party’s National Chairman, Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje; Deputy Chairman Sam Sam Jaja; National Secretary Olagunsoye Oyinlola; and Vice-Chairman, North-West, Ibrahim Kazuare, among others.
The excuse by the Governors of Kwara and Niger States to be absent from the meeting was tabled and accepted.
