The leadership of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) met with a select committee on Tuesday in an effort to bring together disgruntled party members…..CONTINUE READING...CONTINUE READING
The committee, which was carefully chosen by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party include prominent members such as former Senate President Bukola Saraki, its Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar and Ex-Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Udom Emmanuel, among others.
New Telegraph gathered that the party stalwart met with Taofeek Arapaja, the Deputy National Chairman (South) and Umar Damagun, the Acting National Chairman of the party.
Damagun who welcomed participants to the meeting explained that the gathering of the party leaders was called in order to analyze the results of the 2023 general election and to exchange ideas on how to better prepare the PDP for future challenges as well.
He said, “We have had a series of meetings with the members of the national ex officio, state chairmen, some Board of Trustees members as well as members of the National Assembly.
“This is a continuation of that meeting and it was borne out of what happened during those meetings that we called this one. The whole idea is to unite the party.
Originally, the conference was solely intended for the party’s founding fathers, but as it neared its 20th anniversary, we realized that a large number of additional individuals had also advanced to the position of founding father.
“We have had leaders who have given their fair share to be acknowledged as members of this great party and leaders in their own right, starting with our first set of governors, who may not actually be the founding fathers.
Speaking further, he urged the invited stakeholders to maintain civil language and never lose sight of the fact that the PDP is still one family notwithstanding occasional disagreements between its members.
Also speaking, National Organising Secretary of the party, Umar Bature, noted that the purpose of the meeting was “to douse tension within the party as a result of the aftermath of the 2023 elections.”
According to him, the PDP feels that Atiku Abubakar won the election, but since we are in court, we would set that aside without regard to what the judge will rule. Instead of the NWC, this is an interactive meeting meant to kick off the reconciliation process.
Bature stated, “In the State House of Assemblies, we have 342 members; we have 116 members in the House of Representatives. This gives you an idea of how the PDP would fare in the general election of 2023. There are 36 senators and 13 governors in the Senate.
“We are confident that we will prevail in the ongoing tribunal proceedings in the states of Kaduna, Nasarawa, Ogun, Kaduna, and Sokoto.
He called on the committee members not to be quick at pointing accusing fingers at one another, saying, “If you rise to speak, I beg you to spell out your own role in 2023 elections, either positive or negative, before you jump to accuse someone else. Everybody had a role to play.
“When you rise to speak, please tell us the role you played. You can accuse anybody here of playing pro or anti-party activities.
“The aim is when we are through, we will have an idea of what to do with the party before we move on to other organs like the national caucus, and NEC for the way forward for the party.
Meanwhile, former Governorse of Rivers, Enugu and Sokoto States—Nyesom Wike, Ifeanyi Ugwuannyi and Aminu Tambuwal, respectively—who were invited to parley failed to turn up without sending their apologies.
However, the former National Chairman of the party, Uche Secondus, sent his apologies as he is said to be outside the country.
On his part, the Acting Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT) and former Senate President, Adolphus Wabara, urged members to be careful with their utterances, particularly on issues relating to the election petition tribunal.
The meeting was attended by former Kaduna State Governor, Ahmed Makarfi, ex-Minister of Police Affairs, Maina Waziri, and BoT member, Bode George, among others…..CONTINUE READING
