BEVERLY HILLS, December 22, (THEWILL) – The All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have traded words over the crisis rocking the PDP which has led to a factionalisation of the party.
Kola Ologbondiyan, Spokesman of the PDP, argued that the APC was bent on causing dissatisfaction among PDP members ahead of 2019 and was fuelling the dissidents because President Muhammadu Buhari wants to be the sole candidate in the 2019 presidential election.
Speaking with journalists in Abuja, he said that those who opened an illegal office of the party at the Asokoro District of Abuja were being deceived declaring that the plot by some of its members to form a parallel executive was being engineered by the APC.
“We will not allow the APC to distract us. APC has become very worried since we held our convention. As we speak, the constitution of the APC requires them to hold convention every two years but they have not done so,” he said.
“They are so unsettled that the PDP is progressing and progressing progressively. That is why they are using some people to cause confusion in our party but we have gone beyond that.
“What is more important now is that we are embarking on membership drive to win more members back to the PDP.
“President Buhari wants to be the sole candidate in 2019; that’s why they (APC) want to cause crisis in our party.
“We are going to stand as a party and we are going to fiercely contest elections in 2019. Our doors are open to Nigerians and anyone who is interested in contesting an election in 2019 can come in.
“I can assure you that majority of people still hanging around in the APC are coming back home, the PDP. APC is going to the next election as an empty party.
“Recall that after our convention, the APC attempted to inject disagreements and rancour among our members, particularly in the South-West, but also failed.
“However, following certain concerns on the outcome of our convention, our conflict resolution mechanism began to address the issues that will engender continuous harmony in our fold.
“Consequently, the National Reconciliation Committee led by Governor of Bayelsa State, Mr. Seriake Dickson, met with critical stakeholders and leaders of our party in Abuja, Ibadan and Lagos, where very fruitful discussions were held on issues particularly relating to election into the office of the National Chairman were better resolved or collectively agreed upon.”
But reacting, Bolaji Adullahi, Spokesman of the APC, said the claim makes no sense and should be ignored.
“The accusation that President Buhari wants to be a sole candidate does not even make sense,” he told TheCable on phone.
“It is presumptuous and inconsistent with the principle of internal democracy on which our party is built.
“But expecting the PDP to understand internal democracy would be asking for too much.”
Abdullahi, also added that the PDP had yet to learn any lesson from its sordid past which he said was evident in the ongoing squabbles which had given rise to a splinter group within the party.
“We are not interested in these individuals; we are not interested in the internal affairs of the PDP,” he told journalists.
“Instead of looking for someone to blame, they should search their conscience and realise that nothing built on falsehood can stand.
“Their falsehood has caught up with them within two weeks, nothing built on falsehood can survive what they are simply demonstrating to Nigerians is that they have not learnt any lesson from their past. They should try to sort out themselves.”
