The Peoples Democratic Party has said
it is still engaged in discussions with all its major stakeholders,
including the five governors, who defected to the opposition
All Progressives Congress.
The party, in a statement by
its National Publicity Secretary , Chief Olisa Metuh, on Thursday,
said it believed that it would be difficult for any of its members
and elected officials to defect.
The governors that dumped
the PDP are Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers); Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara); Aliyu
Wamakko(Sokoto); Murtala Nyako (Adamawa); and Rabiu Kwakwanso
(Kano).
Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu
and his Jigawa State counterpart, Sule Lamido, who were among the seven
governors known as aggrieved/rebel governors, are still in the PDP.
On Wednesday, the PDP National
Chairman , Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, had stunned journalists in Abuja when he
claimed that he was not aware of any member of the party defecting.
Asked by the journalists
if the action of the five governors was discussed during his
closed-door meeting with the PDP Senate Caucus and the Central Working
Committee of the party, Tukur replied, “Have they defected? They have not gone
yet.”
The PDP, in the statement by Metuh,
said it had not foreclosed discussions with the five governors, Aliyu,
Lamido and its other aggrieved members.
It also debunked reports
in the media that some Senators walked out on Tukur during
the Wednesday meeting.
The party described the reported
walkout as “totally false and deliberately planted “by its enemies to
mislead the public and impede efforts by its leadership to achieve total
reconciliation of its aggrieved members.
The statement reads in part,
“The fact remains that our elected and appointed officers, including our
governors share the same ideals and principles with the administrators of the
party and remain unflinchingly committed to the visions of the founding
fathers.
“The PDP is not only a
political party but a belief which cannot be easily jettisoned.
“It is a belief in national
interest; a belief in the unity of the country and in satisfying the interests
of the common man. These ideals remain greater than any personal interest and
will outlive us all.”
The statement added that in
this regard, the National Working Committee of the PDP had resolved to
ensure that all issues were handled along the lines of these ideals and in
accordance with the party’s constitution, the 1999 Constitution
and other laws of the land.
The party therefore urged all
its members to remain calm and focused to enable it to come out of its current
challenges stronger than ever.
But Nyako, Amaechi, Ahmed and
Kwakwanso, while reacting to Tukur’s comment on their
defection advised the PDP to face issues rather than chasing shadows.
They insisted that they
had left the PDP for good.
Nyako, who spoke through his Director
of Press and Public Affairs, Mr.
Ahmad Sajoh, said , “When
the governors of Bauchi and Zamfara moved from ANPP to the PDP, did it require
a ceremony? What evidence does he (Tukur) want?
“Tukur has been unable to provide
justice within the PDP and people are leaving the party; instead of facing the
reality he is talking about people not leaving.
“The movement of people away
from the PDP is not under his control, what is under his control is the level
of impunity and brigandage that is within the party. He has powers to do that
within the PDP.
“He has no powers to determine
whether people leave the PDP or not. He can control the machinery of the PDP,
but he cannot control the conscience of the people.”
Nyako said that, for as long
as impunity continued in the PDP, many of its
members would still leave.
Kwakwanso, through his
Director of Press and Public Relations, Baba Dantiye , also said,
“he is now in the APC.”
Spokesperson for the
Sokoto State Governor, Mallam Sani Umar, said there was no controversy over
where his principal stood on the issue.
He said, “He has made his stand very
clear on the issue. There is no controversy.”
In his reaction Ahmed
reiterated his commitment to the APC.
His spokesperson, Dr. Muideen
Akorede, said, “Governor Ahmed stands by the position stated by Alhaji
Abubakar Baraje on November 25 that the group has agreed on a
Memoradum of Association to work with the parties that make up the APC.”
Tags
Politics
Pdp is not man enough .it is too late to cry when the head is off.
ReplyDeletePDP... Rubbish party with rubbish people!!! Shame on PDP. Me, Omosun
ReplyDeleteLet them go, will APC change them as bad eggs?
ReplyDeletePDP are confused is it now they are realizing the implication of the defection? Making so much noise"good ridance" now they are made to eat their vomit.
ReplyDeleteHa hahahahaha...(Laugh)dey laugh o,dis old man called Tukur he is exposing his foolishness more n more,he has also show himself to be a big liar just like his fellow people in pdp starting 4rm Jonathan himself,lies n dishonesty has been what their doing,it is a shame dat they don't even haf integrity what so ever.everybody knew dat G5 governors of d then new pdp are now APC,so what is dat old fool called Tukur talking abt afterall they haf said they are free to go dat it can't affect d PDP
ReplyDeletePDP had all the time to settle its scores with the aggrieved governors but it preferred to dwell in controversies and grandstanding, while continued to fuel fire crsis by her body and language signs and action. Now that those G5 governors have vamoosed to APC, and they are beginning to feel the pain of their escape, they are now shedding crocodile tears - the cow does not know the importance of its tail until it is cut off.
ReplyDelete