PDP CRISIS: Sheriff wants to meet with Senators

The embattled national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, has summoned Senators under the party’s platform to a meeting, over the crisis rocking it.

Minority Leader of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, made this known to Senate Correspondents on Wednesday, after a closed door meeting with lawmakers of the party.

The said letter is dated Monday, 6th March, 2017. Akpabio while speaking on whether or not PDP lawmakers will meet with the leadership of the party, said the caucus will have to meet with governors of the party before honouring an invitation extended to them by Sheriff.

Akpabio said in looking for a political solution to problems within the party, the caucus will first meet with and run the idea of meeting with Sheriff with the forum of PDP Governors.

He said the caucus would also meet with other organs of the party, as well as the Ahmed Markafi-led Caretaker Committee before it would honour the invitation extended to them by Sheriff.

The Minority Leader said the caucus would explore every opportunity, specifically the out-of-court arrangement to restore peace to the troubled party.

He said: “We held this meeting because there was a letter from Senator Sheriff to the caucus and so we had to meet first to know whether this is the right time and whether the meeting is right or not. What we agreed is that let the leadership first meet, thereafter we meet with the Sheriff group, then we meet with the Makarfi group, then the BOT and then see whether all can come to a consensus and not just we running to the party office to go and meet him (Sheriff). That will look like sectionalism.

“We discussed about the overall well being of the nation. We also discussed about the ongoing issues in our party and then we discussed the way forward. It

“As a caucus, we believe strongly in peace and we believe that the Peoples Democratic Party. We want Nigeria to have a robust democracy. We believe that without the PDP being strong and united, Nigeria may slide into a one party state and democracy may be in peril.

“We also said if it is possible that while the judicial processes are on, that as a caucus we should also pursue the alternative platform of having out of court settlement and this can only start with us meeting with our governors and thereafter meeting with leadership of the party.

“We will meet with the two groups and all the other organs of the party. That is the Board of Trustees, former governors, the National Assembly members and of course the National Caretaker Committee. The recently pronounced Chairman by the Court of Appeal can spearhead a major political turn around that will involve the every stakeholder and bring holistic peace to the party.

Read also: Hope for PDP as reconciliation committee draws peace plan, supports Sheriff to convene nat’l convention

“If we succeed in doing so, this could even be a major way out instead of continuous processes in court. We will pursue that option without prejudice to the ongoing court processes until we can arrive at a solution where we could at the end of the day, use what we have with the totality of all agreeing as consent judgment.”

Akpabio also dispelled claims that the party had been weakened, following recent defections of four members to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

He said: “I do not see any defection happening. I only see interest playing out. PDP in the Senate is still very strong and very robust. We started with 49 Senators and we are still going to get more.

“So how can you say defection of two or three Senators who have interest outside the chambers will affect the unity and strength of the caucus? That is not true. Please ignore some of those things because every politics is local.

“There are local circumstances that may make everybody to decide the party to go to. Even if there were no wrangling in PDP, there will still be defections. If you access your chances of a re-election in 2019 in your locality and then you see that a would be opponent is five times your size, what do you do? you have to start looking for an alternative platform so that you do not lose out in 2019. Would that mean that it is PDP issue? No, it means personal issues.

“So, anything that has to do with the strength of the PDP dwindling is propaganda and I do not want you (journalists) to engage in that.

“Let me use this opportunity to assure our teeming supporters across the nation that the party is still very strong. The struggle for chairmanship at the party secretariat does not in any way diminish the strength of the party in all the wards of the nation and in the 774 local governments. So, PDP remains a veritable, strong and viable alternative. It is only the PDP that will assist the APC in deepening democracy and that is what we must all work on.
By Ehisuan Odia

 

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