Abubakar Baraje
By Chuks Okocha
The Abubakar Baraje-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has asked Nigerians to ignore the comments from the Alhaji Bamanga Tukur faction on the outcome of the meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa last Sunday, stating that no deal was reached.
In a statement by the National Publicity Secretary, Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, the faction said: "We have read various misleading accounts of what transpired at that meeting between our progressive governors Alhaji Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano), Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto), Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Murtala Nyako (Adamawa), Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara) and Sule Lamido (Jigawa) with Jonathan on how to resolve the self-inflicted crisis in our party.
"We wish to specifically urge Nigerians and our supporters to ignore the concocted tales of Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State and Chairman of PDP Governors’ Forum. Akpabio lied by claiming that we have accepted that Jonathan should contest the 2015 presidential election and that most of our demands are being met."
According to the statement, "the fact of the case is that no agreement has been reached on any of the issues we tabled before the president and until we see results, Nigerians should ignore the present efforts by the Tukur camp to deceive them."
On the issue of the president's candidacy in the 2015 presidential election, the Baraje faction said: "We wish to say that we have a mechanism and system of electing our standard-bearers for any election and until the time to choose the party’s presidential standard-bearer comes, any speculation on this is just a mere academic exercise."
The splinter group added that it had been vindicated in their claim that Tukur and his faction were not serious about their purported search for the return of peace in the party.
It said: "Just a few hours after Sunday’s meeting between the progressive governors and the president, Tukur’s faction once more showed its disdain for peace by unilaterally setting up a caretaker committee to run the affairs of our Kano State chapter.
"This was done without recourse to either the leader of the party in the state, Governor Kwankwaso, or other stakeholders of the party from Kano.
"This was done without recourse to either the leader of the party in the state, Governor Kwankwaso, or other stakeholders of the party from Kano.
"This illegality is a clear violation of our party’s constitution and was hurriedly done just to spite Kwankwaso, the party leader in the state," Eze said in the statement.
Accordingly, the Baraje-led PDP said: "We hereby urge our people in Kano State to ignore this illegality as we have set in motion the machinery to organise a proper election as stipulated by our party’s constitution.
Accordingly, the Baraje-led PDP said: "We hereby urge our people in Kano State to ignore this illegality as we have set in motion the machinery to organise a proper election as stipulated by our party’s constitution.
"We are still at a loss why Tukur and his cohorts do not want peace to reign in PDP but no matter the odds we are very determined to ensure that peace is restored to our party with the prayers of Nigerians."
Meanwhile, a senator from the Baraje's camp yesterday gave some insight into how a peace deal was reached between the senate leadership and the splinter PDP.
According to the senator, "When the new PDP visited the National Assembly on Tuesday, the leadership of the Senate was not ready to receive the New PDP.
"The chairman was accompanied by all its seven governors and members into the red chamber. The leadership of the Senate was skeptical of the New PDP moves and in order not to upset the peace the upper chamber has enjoyed all this while, it was based on that and the fear that they may team up with other opposition parties to change the leadership of the Senate.
"The chairman was accompanied by all its seven governors and members into the red chamber. The leadership of the Senate was skeptical of the New PDP moves and in order not to upset the peace the upper chamber has enjoyed all this while, it was based on that and the fear that they may team up with other opposition parties to change the leadership of the Senate.
"The leadership did not want to receive the New PDP until it got assurances from the Baraje-led party leadership that they will give maximum support to Mark, before the senate president changed his mind to receive them.
"Also, the senators from North-central, where the senate presidency was zoned by the PDP also assured the senate leadership that they remain loyal.
"Senator Abdullahi Adamu from Nasarawa State and Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki of Kwara State personally assured the leadership that their loyalty is to Mark's leadership and promised not to sponsor any leadership change in the red chamber. It was after this promises, that the Senate leadership agreed to receive the New PDP, despite pressures not to do so from Tukur and the presidency," the senator told THISDAY.
The senator also said the G7 governors also reached out to the leadership and gave their commitment that the New PDP will not support or encourage any leadership change, but told Mark and other principal officers that they should be neutral in the battle between the factions of the party.
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