Jonathan to PDP defectors: Return to your natural home

Following the Supreme Court judgment on Wednesday which put a final stop to the protracted legal crisis that bediveled the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), former President Goodluck Jonathan has called on all those who left the party to return to their natural home.

He stated this as he congratulated the party and Senator Ahmed Makarfi whose status as Chairman of the PDP Caretaker Committee was affirmed by the apex court.

The Supreme Court had in its ruling on Wednesday in the leadership tussle between Makarfi and Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, declared Makarfi the authentic national chairman of the party, reversing an earlier ruling of a Port Harcourt Appeal Court judgment that ruled in favour of Sheriff.

Reacting through his twitter handle, Jonathan said, “I congratulate my political party, the PDP, on the successful resolution of its leadership crisis by the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

“I believe in our jurists. We may have issues with some individuals but the Nigerian judiciary deserves respect and commendation.

“Today’s verdict is a judgment where there are no winners or losers. It is a verdict that will bring our party together.

“As I congratulate the Ahmed Makarfi led Caretaker Committee, I strongly urge them not to see this as a victory of a section of the party…but as a moral victory of constitutionality over arbitrariness.

Read also: Supreme Court affirms Makarfi as PDP Chairman

“Thus, they must take inspiration from General Yakubu Gowon and declare a ‘no victor and no vanquished policy’.

“I hereby call on all those who left the party because of its leadership issues to return to their natural home and build the PDP.”

Further tweeting, he said, “The PDP is an inclusive vehicle not an exclusive one. We see Nigerians as human beings deserving of the rule of law, separation of powers…and a free market economy that provides a level playing ground for all.

“The party that gave Nigeria the largest economy in Africa is a party whose heart is large enough to find a place for all Nigerians.

“I thank God for this day of Justice and may God bless Nigeria. GEJ”

By Ebere Ndukwu …

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