By Danlami Nmodu
Reports Tuesday said former President Ibrahim Babangida and ex Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party ,PDP,Ahmadu Alli held a meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan in Aso Rock Presidential Villa ,Abuja.
Reports later in the night said PDP governors met with the president.At least four of the New PDP governors were said to have been at the meeting Tuesday night.
The meetings were believed to be part of the attempts to fashion out peace within the PDP after the emergence of a faction known as the New PDP.There were reports that some PDP governors were seen within the Villa,but it was not immediately clear if the governors would also meet as a group with the president later in the night.
So far, there have been unsuccessful attempts at papering over the cracks within the party.The key issues demanded by the ‘rebels’include : that Jonathan drops his 2015 ambition; that Jonathan should sack the PDP national chairman, Bamanga Tukur and the need for a new convention among others.
Meanwhile, even as the peace efforts have continued, the war of words in the party remains unabated.The New PDP in statement today lambasted Tukur for making what the bfaction called false claims . “We have read some of the utterances of the Alhaji Bamanga Tukur-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and found most of them to be exasperating, disgusting, unacceptable and very unfortunate. We have heard about the threat to suspend or expel State Governors and members of the National Assembly that are indentifying with the true leadership of PDP under Alh Abubakar Kawu Baraje. We have also heard them abusing former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and calling him an ingrate just because he has decided to identify with our campaign for justice in the PDP of which he was a leading founding father and was instrumental to the payment of both the staff salaries of those working at the National Headquarters of the party and paid the rent for the National Secretariat in which some of these funny elements are currently operating from for three good years! To this group Governor Amaechi is a traitor for standing firm to his rights and likewise most of our people that have stick their heads to restore the party to the path of honour and democratic tenants. We consider some these of statements unbecoming of a leader of Alh. Tukur’s stature as we pray that he will found time to purge himself of some of these undemocratic postures that is tearing the great umbrella apart.
The New PDP in a statement by its spokesman, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze,said “By these acts, Alhaji Tukur has demonstrated that he is intolerant, undemocratic and incapable of leading a democratic party like PDP. We urge him and members of his cabinet to stop making inflammatory statements capable of derailing the efforts of the Elders Committee of the party under the leadership of His Excellency Chief Olusegun Obasanjo GCFR to restore normalcy and unity amongst PDP members. He and his co-travellers should give some respect to members of the Elders Committee comprising eminent personalities such as former President Ibrahim Babangida, the BOT Chairman, Chief Tony Anenih and former National Chairmen of the party, among them Alhaji Ahmadu Ali and Dr. Barnabas Gemade. This is necessary so as to allow peace to be restored to our great party.
“We also find unfortunate Alhaji Tukur’s allegation that Gov. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State is sponsoring the activities of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC). This is yet another reckless statement. If we may ask, on what basis would Gov Amaechi be sponsoring the activities of APC? Is he a member of APC? Are there not enough State
Governors in APC to sponsor its activities so that Gov Amaechi, whose preoccupation is the development of Rivers State, would have to sponsor the party? Elders like Alhaji Tukur should refrain from making statements that are not only false but also capable of overheating the polity and creating more troubles for President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and allow Mr. President to find ways to wrangle himself out of the myriad of problems so far created by some misguided elements surrounding him.
