The new Peoples Democratic Party led by Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje
has cautioned the embittered PDP National Chairman, Mr Tukur to leave
Atiku, Amaechi, members of the breakaway PDP alone and face the
aftermath of his undemocratic acts that has destroyed the party under
his watch.
The party made its view known in an online statement signed and made
available to newshounds by its new National Publicity Secretary, Chief
Eze Chukwuemeka Eze.
Full text of the release reads:
“We have read some of the utterances of the Alhaji Bamanga Tukur-led
faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and found most of them
to be exasperating, disgusting, unacceptable and very unfortunate. We
have heard about the threat to suspend or expel State Governors and
members of the National Assembly that are indentifying with the true
leadership of PDP under Alh Abubakar Kawu Baraje. We have also heard
them abusing former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and calling him an
ingrate just because he has decided to identify with our campaign for
justice in the PDP of which he was a leading founding father and was
instrumental to the payment of both the staff salaries of those
working at the National Headquarters of the party and paid the rent
for the National Secretariat in which some of these funny elements are
currently operating from for three good years! To this group Governor
Amaechi is a traitor for standing firm to his rights and likewise most
of our people that have stick their heads to restore the party to the
path of honour and democratic tenants. We consider some these of
statements unbecoming of a leader of Alh. Tukur’s stature as we pray
that he will found time to purge himself of some of these undemocratic
postures that is tearing the great umbrella apart.
“By these acts, Alhaji Tukur has demonstrated that he is intolerant,
undemocratic and incapable of leading a democratic party like PDP. We
urge him and members of his cabinet to stop making inflammatory
statements capable of derailing the efforts of the Elders Committee of
the party under the leadership of His Excellency Chief Olusegun
Obasanjo GCFR to restore normalcy and unity amongst PDP members. He
and his co-travellers should give some respect to members of the
Elders Committee comprising eminent personalities such as former
President Ibrahim Babangida, the BOT Chairman, Chief Tony Aninh and
former National Chairmen of the party, among them Alhaji Ahmadu Ali
and Dr. Barnabas Gemade. This is necessary so as to allow peace to be
restored to our great party.
“We also find unfortunate Alhaji Tukur’s allegation that Gov. Chibuike
Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State is sponsoring the activities of the
opposition All Progressives Congress (APC). This is yet another
reckless statement. If we may ask, on what basis would Gov Amaechi be
sponsoring the activities of APC? Is he a member of APC? Are there not
enough State Governors in APC to sponsor its activities so that Gov
Amaechi, whose preoccupation is the development of Rivers State, would
have to sponsor the party? Elders like Alhaji Tukur should refrain
from making statements that are not only false but also capable of
overheating the polity and creating more troubles for President
Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and allow Mr. President to find ways to
wrangle himself out of the myriad of problems so far created by some
misguided elements surrounding him.
“Though we know that most of the actors and members of Tukur’s NWC are
not among the founding fathers of PDP which perhaps explains the
strange way they have been running the party. We will like to put it
on record that we the patriotic members of PDP will not be either
intimidated or harassed out of the party as we are on a mission not
only to rediscover the PDP but also to imbibe in the members the
vision of the founding fathers of the party and restore internal
democracy in the party.
“To us, that dinner was organised to give credibility to the charade
that was called PDP Special National Convention. As a serious group,
we cannot be a party to such squandermania while Nigerian masses are
wallowing in abject poverty and our children kept at home instead of
being in school because the Federal Government could not meet ASUU’s
demands. We wish to have nothing to do with such wasting of public
funds and such trivialities associated with Alhaji Tukur and his
leadership – which explains why he must be kicked out of the National
Secretariat of the party. We cannot be a party to such a gathering
while the PDP family is facing serious crisis that if not checked
would dim the party’s chances of winning future elections. This is a
sign of a man chasing a rat while his house is on fire.
“Finally, we wish to advise those trivializing President Jonathan
contesting or not contesting the 2015 election with threats and acting
in such a manner as if only the Ijaws are capable of voting him or
another person as the President of Nigeria in a country of over 300
tribes, to think wisely. In this regard, we commend and congratulate
the thousands of Bayelsa people who have wisely decided to team up
with the PDP under the chairmanship of Alhaji Abubakar Baraje to
salvage our party from imminent disintegration under Alhaji Tukur. We
assure these great minds that they will be fully protected under our
umbrella.
