PDM is Atiku’s Ploy to become President, PDP Group Alleges

Atiku Abubakar

 

• Former VP, Tukur in secret meeting
• Hanga-led faction of defunct CPC may join new party

By Chuks Okocha and Onyebuchi Ezigbo

Despite his insistence that he was not one of sponsors of the newly registered Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM), a group in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Sunday described the registration of the party as a ploy by former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar to clinch the presidency.

The group, which called itself the Concerned PDP Democrats, in a statement by its National Coordinator, Elvis Agukwe, accused the former vice-president of being desperate to become president.

Another group in the PDP, Group of 84 (G84) of the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC), has also cautioned northern politicians against their insistence on the return of the presidency to the north.

The PDM and the Independent Democrats (ID), whose registration was announced last week by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), have released what they termed their mission statements, which include upholding constitutional democracy and protecting the lives and property of all Nigerians.

PDM’s membership may soon swell as members of a group in the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) are considering defecting to the new party.  

Agukwe, in the statement said Atiku and his allies would fail in their 2015 presidential bid.
Agukwe, whose group is known for advocating an automatic ticket for President Goodluck Jonathan to contest the 2015 presidential election, said: “Does Turaki really want a sitting president that is doing well to step down for him? If you are not a good follower, you may not be a good leader.

“We urge Turaki to show leadership by giving total support to President Jonathan. He challenged an incumbent president before in a primary election and is in a position to know that it's not possible to defeat an incumbent president in a primary within his party.

“We do not want to look at Turaki as a desperado politician who moves from party to party. We love and respect him as a credible political leader. As a Muslim, he must know that power comes from God and if it is the wish of God that he will be president, nobody can stop that.

“We therefore call on Turaki to perish the idea of going to PDM and remain in PDP. He must not allow his ambitious spin-doctors to deceive or mislead him again. This latest move is not good for Atiku’s political health as it will only portray him as a desperado politician who wants to become president by all means.”

The group accused the former vice-president of forming the PDM as a decoy for his presidential aspiration, saying, “Forming a new party in whatever guise is not an option for Atiku. It will worsen his political ratings from which he is still recovering after his futile sojourn in the defunct Action Congress (AC).”

“We want Turaki to reciprocate the support he has received from the South-south and the fact that his moneymaking business empire is based in the South-south.

“Tell your supporters to remain in PDP as that is the only option that is viable. They are your supporters and loyal to you, except you are trying to tell us that they are no longer loyal to you,” it added.

It promised to send a delegation to Atiku to discuss with him the need to remain in PDP.
As the group was criticising Atiku over his alleged involvement with the PDM, the party and the ID at the weekend released their mission statements to shed light on their mission in the country’s political space.

The PDM said in its mission statement that it would ensure the democratisation of economic and political power through political grassroots participation in the structures and organisation of power. 

“That a new political order is established which will compel the leadership to always balance power and authority with service and accountability. The system will thus guarantee social justice, equality of opportunities, national loyalty and patriotism and that all economic policies are directed towards national self-reliance which is the cornerstone of genuine development and nation-building,” the PDM said in its mission statement.

The party will also fight corruption, terrorism, indiscipline, lack of national commitment and avarice “with an incentive structure which will promote and reward productivity and discourage indolence.”

The ID, in its mission statement signed by the national chairman of the party, Edozie Madu, said the party was committed to liberal democratic and constitutional governance and would give priority to the security of lives and property.

However, with the registration of the PDM, a renegade faction of the defunct CPC led by Senator Rufai Hanga, has said it may explore the option of merging with the new party.

In a statement yesterday by its spokesman, Chief Dennis Aghanya, the CPC group said it hoped to fill the gap created in the north with the formation of the All Progressives Congress (APC), of which the defunct CPC and the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) are constituent part.

According to him, the two parties have commenced talks on the possibility of merging.
“Although discussions have been ongoing between the two groups for the past few months through our leaders, Senator Hanga, Senator Mamman Dan Musa and a caucus of our northern leaders over the possibility of a merger between the two vibrant political groups in the north, it was agreed that efforts should first be concentrated to ensure the registration of the PDM by INEC,” he said.

Now that the new party has been registered, Aghanya said a meeting of the group had been slated for Abuja this week to review the current development, especially its pending court action against the former leadership of CPC, for which judgment has been fixed for October 7.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the PDP G84 of the party’s NEC, Alhaji Issa Tafida Mafindi, has cautioned northern politicians against their alleged desperate bid to reclaim the presidency.

The G84 is the voting group in the PDP NEC.
Mafindi explained that such a blind ambition could have dire consequences for the unity of the country.

In an interview with THISDAY at the weekend, he said the north should take into cognisance the fact that it could not get the presidency alone without carrying along other zones that are traditionally its allies.

According to him, “In the First Republic, the Northern Peoples Congress (NPC), under the leadership of Sir Ahmadu Bello, did not do it alone as it carried along southern politicians like Chief Okotie Eboh, Edwin Clark and others.

“In the Second Republic, the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) that produced former President Shehu Shagari ensured that the south was carried along when it ensured that Dr. Alex Ekwueme was elected the vice-president and the chairmanship position of the NPN went to the South-west with Augustus Akinloye emerging as the national chairman.”

He urged northern politicians to avoid making the mistakes that the Igbo made in the 1960s that eventually caused the civil war.

“When we say that the presidency must return to the north as some of my brothers are clamouring at this moment, would it not be fair that we take the interest of other zones into consideration in whatever that we are clamouring for?

“We have our traditional allies in the South-south and South-east. Are we saying that this time around that the north should disregard its traditional allies and just pick the presidency as if others don’t matter?  My advice to my brothers is that we should not because of ambition burn our hands.

“We should ensure that we protect the feelings of our traditional allies. The north must get the presidency, but the north cannot go it alone. The All Progressives Congress (APC) has been registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and this new party has its base in the South-west.

“APC is seen mostly as a South-west political party, it has no base in the north, except among a few politicians, so our traditional allies as far as the north is concerned are the South-south and the South-east and therefore we must not because of ambition trade off our known allies,” he added.

In the meantime, the National Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, and Atiku yesterday held a private meeting over the registration of PDM by INEC.

THISDAY was told that Atiku drove into the residence of Tukur at about 8 pm and that the meeting lasted for over 90 minutes.
Inside sources said the meeting between Atiku and Tukur bordered on the PDM and the stance of the former vice-president.

According to one source, Atiku distanced himself from the formation of the new party, but acknowledged that most of the members of the new party are his political associates.
The two leaders also discussed the crisis rocking the Adamawa State chapter of the party, the home state of the duo.

The source said that after the meeting, Tukur proceeded to the Presidential Villa, Abuja, to brief the president on the outcome of his meeting with Atiku. As at press time, Tukur was still at the State House.