Following
the Supreme Court judgement on the leadership crisis rocking the Peoples’
Democratic Party (PDP), the Governor of Bayelsa State, Honourable Henry Seriake
Dickson has called on the former national Chairman of PDP, Senator Ali Modu
Sheriff and his supporters to team up with the Senator Ahmed Makarfi –led
National Caretaker Committee of the party to move the PDP forward.
The
Governor who is also the Chairman of the National Reconciliation Committee of
the PDP said the apex court judgement produced no victor, no vanquished and
called on the contending forces to see it as such. To this end, Governor
Dickson advised the Senator Makarfi -led National Caretaker Committee and all
leaders of the party to deliberately and ‘‘consistently pursue true and genuine
reconciliation of all contending parties in the party with the view to
organizing an all-inclusive National Unity Convention to select the national
leadership of PDP. ‘’
According
to a statement signed on Saturday in Yenagoa by the Governor’s Special Adviser
on Media Relations, Francis Agbo, the Governor believes true reconciliation and
a national Unity Convention would build confidence in the party as well as
‘‘endear Nigerians to PDP and persuade those who had defected from our great
party to return to PDP ahead of 2019.’’
While
stressing that the judiciary only adjudicates on matters but never reconciles
contending parties, Governor Dickson said now that the Supreme Court has
delivered the much expected judgement, the PDP must now reconcile and truly put
its house in order to effectively play its role as the leading opposition party
in Nigeria.
Governor
Dickson who is also the Chairman of the National Reconciliation Committee
enjoins all PDP faithful and leaders to respect the judgement of the Supreme
Court as the final arbiter by cooperating with the National Caretaker Committee
to deliver reconciliation and an acceptable Unity National Convention within
the shortest possible time frame.
The
statement read in part: ‘‘I call on Senator Ali Modu Sheriff and his supporters
and all contending parties in our great party, PDP to respect the verdict of
the Supreme Court as the final arbiter. I urge all contending parties in the
PDP to embrace peace and genuine reconciliation and support the Senator
Ahmed Makarfi –led Caretaker Committee of our party with a view to organizing
an all- inclusive National Unity Convention . Without such support, genuine
reconciliation cannot take place; without such support, the Caretaker Committee
will have a herculean task organizing an acceptable convention, without genuine
reconciliation, the party cannot move forward...’’
Governor
Dickson noted that the prolonged PDP leadership crisis was unnecessary in the
first place, and believed that the PDP leaders had learnt their lessons, hoping
that the PDP leadership would put in place measures to forestall re-occurrence
of the needles crisis and litigations!
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Politics