Party accuse of APC of politicising restructuring
Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
Efforts by the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to reconcile the warring factions of the party in Kwara State ended in a stalemate yesterday.
The failure of the national party to broker peace between the rival camps led by Iyiola Oyedepo and Sunday Fagbemi, came to the open as most of the stakeholders started leaving the venue barely minutes shortly after the meeting commenced.
The party’s leadership had summoned the feuding groups from the state to Abuja in a bid to reconcile them.
It appointed Senator Solomon Ewuga to serve as mediator between the two warring factions.
However, indications that the two-hours meeting ended in an intense deadlock emerged as some of the stakeholders were seen discussing angrily in clusters, while others hurriedly left the party premises.
When approached for comments, former Minister of National Planning, Prof Suleiman Abubakar, refused to speak with newsmen but directed them to Senator, Suleiman Ajadi, who angrily rebuffed them
Earlier, Makarfi, while speaking during the open session, cautioned the two camps to tow the part of four other states that have resolved to work together, noting that Kwara State was reputed to be very politically mature.
Makarfi who further urged them to put their house in order, warned that they risk losing the party’s structure in the state to members that would join later.
According to Makarfi, “Kwara State is the only state we are meeting with like this. We have four states that we already have submissions from them based on the resolutions passed and approved at Convention. All sides to the conflict in the states jointly signed and made a submission in the overall interest of the party.
He cited chapters as Lagos, Adamawa already making progress and will soon make their submissions to NCC.
Meanwhile, PDP has again responded to the charge by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) that it has no deep believe and understanding on the issue of restructuring.
The opposition party said the APC’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, was being clever by half.
In a statement issued yesterday by the Head of the party’s Publicity Unit, Chinwe Nnorom, PDP said it was once again constrained to react to a statement made by the APC “in another failed attempt with the Mischief his party is known for – manipulation – against Nigerians into believing that the it is interested in ‘restructuring’.
The statement said: “We were categorical that the leaders of the APC had denied promising restructuring at different times but suddenly jumped at it as “the latest in a series of deceitful ploys designed and being implemented by the party to hoodwink Nigerians ahead of the 2019 general election.
“We were correct! Abdullahi confirmed our hint of their ploy on Paragraph 4 of his statement thus, “We understand that PDP needs desperately to return to reckoning; and realizing that restructuring is the new political currency in Nigeria, it is latching on.
“Indeed, ‘restructuring’ is the APC’s “…new political currency in Nigeria,…†to further delude and buy the votes of unsuspecting Nigerians ahead of the 2019 general election given that its original ‘Change’ mantra has failed woefully,†it said.
