The national Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur has appealed to members of the Abubakar Baraje
faction to close ranks with the mainstream PDP, to enable the party forge a
common front for the national pro posed dialogue.
In a statement he signed yesterday,
Tukur said the ruling party would mobilise Nigerians from all walks of life,
including opposition groups, for the success of the conference.
According to him, the dialogue
offers a life time opportunity for Nigerians to re-lay the foundation of the
country, stressing that the nation would emerge as a true giant of Africa at
the end of the exercise.
Tukur said: “I appeal to members of
the PDP to align with the President on the national confab agenda. I also
appeal to our aggrieved members to return to the PDP for us to forge a common
endeavour towards rebuilding the party and our country in particular.
“For this reason, I will not shy
away from begging our party members to come together so we can enter the
national confab like a team and set examples for the rest of Nigeria.
“In doing that, we would have
demonstrated that we remain the most serious party, not only in Nigeria but in
Africa”.
The chairman said the PDP was
excited by the government’s desire to bring all ethnic nationalities in the
country together for discussions on the progress and future of the country.
He praised President Goodluck
Jonathan for responding positively to the yearnings of the people for a
national conference.
Tukur wondered why the idea of the
conference was being criticised by certain individuals and groups in the
country.
He described the critics as
hypocrites, saying that many of them had severally called for the conference in
the past and had mounted pressure on the President to set machinery in motion
for the talks.
The chairman admitted that the
ruling party is presently at a crossroads, a development which he said, is
normal in democracies.
What is not normal, according to him,
“is a situation where dissenting members resolve to permanently stand apart
with little regard for the party’s starting line, past efforts in building the
party, as well as common aspirations in raising the party to be the most
formidable among all”.
Tukur restated his determination to
pursue with vigour the revival of the ruling party and to put the country on
the path of sustainable growth and development.
He said: “Let me reiterate that I am
not the cause of the crises in our party. From the moment I came in as
chairman, my focus has been on reconciliation and party reformation.
“Some entrenched interests opposed
that. They, therefore, left us with an impression that PDP does not need a
reform. Why must we keep on operating without reforms? For me, such attitude is
not encouraging.
“As I speak, the Democratic Party in
the United States with assurances from President Barack Obama, has promised to
assist the growth of our party and they are serious about it.
“That is instructive, coming from
the world’s most respected political party. But we need reforms to carry us
through, and the reforms we must implement”.
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Politics