Encounter
Shortly before the parallel convention of the Peoples Democratic Party, former Minister of Interior, Abba Moro, pleaded with members of his party on the need to stay as one. Yekini Jimoh reports
During a chanced meeting with former Minister of Interior, Comrade Abba Moro the Peoples Democratic Party stalwart expressed deep concern about the future of the party. He was particularly bothered about the implication of creating factions in the party.
For Moro, rather than deplete the party further by factionalising is, the only chance of survival of the party after the loss of its grip on power at the centre in the 2015 general elections is for members to remain united and pursue a common goal.
A staunch member of PDP, Moro made the call ahead of the parallel national conventions, reiterating his call for a truce in the ongoing crisis tearing the party apart, maintaining that “The creation of factions will not augur well for the continued existence of the PDP.”
According to him, “The only therapy needed to heal the injuries sustained from the terrible blow of defeat in last year’s election by the party to enable it bounce back to power in 2019 is absolute unity among members at all levels.
“The emerging factions in the party are utterly needless. What we need now is to come together and share ideas on how to rebuild and reposition our party for effective performance in future elections.
“By now we ought to have learnt some very useful lessons from our past mistakes that brought us down in the 2015 polls. We need to know that there is no way we can survive amidst crisis and turbulence as a party aiming to return to power.
“Our road to victory in 2019 can only remain smooth if we choose to work together devoid of acrimony.”
He said the proponents of the parallel convention from the one approved by the National Executive Committee (NEC), the highest decision-making organ of the PDP, needed to have a rethink and embrace dialogue in the interest of the party.
“Attempting to divide the party on the excuse of opposition to the leadership of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff is overtly unpatriotic and uncalled-for. The PDP is certainly larger than anyone individual. And for some of the founding fathers of the PDP, it will be an unforgiveable mistake for them to tear down the house they toiled so hard to build. This is the time to build bridges of accommodation rather than fan the embers of the things that divide us,” he added.
But eventually, though the PDP NEC ratified the last Saturday, May 21, 2016 national convention in Port-Harcourt to elect new national officers for the party, some elders and stakeholders (mostly founding members) firmly opposed to the leadership of Ali Modu Sheriff as the national chairman equally held a parallel convention on the same day in Abuja.
