PDP DECIDES ON ATIKU, GOVS TODAY

Alh. Atiku Abubakar

Senior officials of the People’s Democratic Party are scheduled to hold a meeting in Abuja today to decide on the break-up of the party by seven governors and others who set up a parallel executive on Saturday.
The meeting is expected to be attended by President Goodluck Jonathan, PDP governors— including those who rebelled against the Bamanga Tukur leadership—as well as other leaders.
It will be a continuation of discussions started Sunday night, during which the aggrieved governors were said to have set out conditions for their return to the mainstream.
A brief communiqué, read by PDP board of trustees chairman Tony Anenih at about 2.30am yesterday, said the meeting was “encouraging” and would reconvene today.
“This evening (Sunday), Mr. President, the leadership of the party and the PDP governors met to discuss the incident that occurred during the PDP special convention on the 31st of August 2013 whereby some state delegations walked out of the convention ground to announcea faction of the party,” the communiqué said. “The meeting was smooth and encouraging, and the discussions will continue on Tuesday with all the aggrieved governors in attendance.”
Also speaking at a news conference in Abuja yesterday, spokesman of the Tukur-led faction Olisa Metuh said consultations were still on to resolve the issues at stake and a decision is likely to be announced today.
“Consultations are going on at the highest level of this party. The president, national chairman of our party, chairman board of trustees, PDP governors are meeting on this and their discussions so far have been very encouraging,” he said, shortly after the inauguration of the new party executive elected during Saturday’s convention.
“At the appropriate time, we will communicate to the media the decisions they arrange, the meeting is continuing on Tuesday, and once the meeting is over, whatever the outcome is, we will communicate immediately to the press and we will inform you the reasons behind the decisions, but for now consultations are going on at the highest level of this country of the party.”
Seven of PDP’s 23 governors, along with former vice president Atiku Abubakar and dozens of federal lawmakers, broke away and formed the ‘New PDP’ on Saturday, citing persisting arbitrariness of Tukur with the backing of President Jonathan.
They also named Alhaji Abubakar Baraje as new chairman, former Osun State Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola as secretary, and Dr. Sam Jaja as deputy national chairman.
The governors are Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano), Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto), Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara), Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers) and Murtala Nyako (Adamawa).
Metuh said yesterday as soon as a decision is taken today on Abubakar and the governors who walked out of the party’s convention on Saturday, the party will go explain the reasons behind its decision.
On the controversy surrounding the disqualification of Jaja from vying for the post of deputy national chairman during the Saturday convention, Metuh said: “Because of my campaign I did not follow other people’s campaign but I promise to find out in the next 24 hours on what happened to Dr. Jaja.”
Court case
Meanwhile, the Baraje-led PDP faction filed a case at the Lagos State High Court, before vacation judge Aliu Safari, seeking for an injunction to restrain Tukur and other officials of his faction from parading themselves as members of the PDP national executive.
Others the court case wants to restrain are Tukur faction’s deputy national chairman Uche Secondus, woman leader Kema Chikwe and national publicity secretary Olisah Metuh.
The court asked the plaintiffs to serve the defendants, and also directed that the status quo should be maintained while parties involved are to argue the motion on notice on Monday.
“What this means is that in the meantime that both executive committees are to remain until the court resolves the matter,” a statement by Oyinlola said yesterday.
There was no immediate comment from the Tukur faction on the court case.
Also yesterday, the Baraje faction said even though they welcome the peace moves by elders of the party, they would not abandon their quest for justice in the PDP.
On Sunday, former President Olusegun Obsanjo issued a statement in which he said party elders would meet this week to broker a truce in the dispute that broke the party.
Oyinlola said in a statement that they “appreciate the efforts of leaders of the party, particularly President Goodluck Jonathan and former President Olusegun Obasanjo who, we note, have scheduled a meeting of the party elders for this week. We respect the elders and will be guided by them even as we stress that we will not abandon the ideals of justice and fairness that gave birth to the new party leadership under Alhaji Baraje.
“We equally call on all party members across the country to remain peaceful and law abiding as the
PDP rescue process is being pursued with vigour. We owe the coming generation of Nigerians a duty of ensuring that impunity and dictatorship do not take any root in our democracy and, indeed, in our nation.”
‘Break-up won’t kill PDP’
Meanwhile, President Jonathan’s political adviser Ahmed Gulak slammed ex-VP Abubakar for his role in the emergence of the PDP splinter group, saying also that the break-up of the party would not lead to its death.
Speaking to journalists at the State House in Abuja, Gulak said, “Atiku as a politician, I was surprised because Atiku is supposed to know more than any other person that there is no party like PDP. He left PDP and went to ACN and he came back to PDP, because he discovered that outside PDP there is no party, so he had to come back and he was even given the waiver to contest the primaries election in 2011. Atiku should be grateful to PDP. Atiku is indebted to PDP and the best way to continue to pay the debt is to protect PDP.”
In a reaction to Gulak, spokesman for ex-VP Abubakar, Malam Garba Shehu, said “I just spoke with the former Vice President and his response is that he has heard Mr Gulak and he does not dispute the fact that he is indebted to the PDP but that the best way to continue to pay that debt is to protect PDP. He says, ‘that is exactly what I am doing: Protecting the PDP’.”
Gulak also yesterday said the split of the PDP “can never be the end of PDP. PDP has been there since 1998. It’s only PDP that has still maintained its name and identity. The other people you’re talking about started as AD, transformed to AC, transformed to ACN. They’ve lost their identity. It’s only PDP that has consistently maintained its identity and name. So, there is no party that can beat PDP.”
Gulak, who said the aggrieved PDP governors were merely out to protect their own interests, urged them to embrace dialogue.
He also faulted the governors’ agitation for the removal of Tukur who, he said, was duly elected and could only be removed through a lawful process.
“Whatever anybody says is about how his interest can be protected. They (the governors) have put on the table what they want, or put on the table what it should be and the leader has carefully listened and analysed it and we keep on talking,” he said, referring to the discussions held Sunday night.
“You can’t remove the national chairman (Tukur) like that. He was elected...Of all the offices, the INEC observed that only the positions of the national chairman and the financial secretary were properly done, and that is why we had do to the special national convention to properly elect the other officers.”
He added: “You can’t come and say remove Mr A or B, and you can’t say for example, remove governor A. There are processes of removal; the constitution is clear about it. And I want to plead with all PDP leaders and members, especially the senior stakeholders, to continue dialoguing. You don’t win a war at the battlefront; you win a war on the table.”