The lingering crisis bedevilling the opposition Peoples Democratic Party persisted on Saturday as the two factions of the party maintained their position.
Findings by SUNDAY PUNCH in Abuja, on Saturday showed that neither the Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led Caretaker Committee nor the Senator Ali Modu Sheriff group, had named representatives into the proposed “peace talks committee.”
The two were prevailed upon by the Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase and the Director-General of the Department of State Services, Mr. Lawal Daura to nominate four persons each to serve in the committee.
This decision was reached after Friday’s meeting brokered by the security chiefs. The IGP also informed the two groups that his men and other security agents would maintain the seal on the party secretariat until all parties came to an agreement.
Spokesman for the Makarfi-led Caretaker Committee, Dayo Adeyeye, told one of our correspondents on the telephone that the committee was representing the entire party.
According to him, this made it incumbent on the committee to consult relevant stakeholders such as the Board of Trustees, the National Caucus, the National Assembly and governors before any such appointment is made.
He said, “Unlike the Sheriff group, our committee is representing the entire party and the party is made up of so many institutions. We have the Governors’ Forum, the National Assembly, the BoT, the Caucus, state and zonal chapters and so on. So, we are consulting before we can do any such thing (nomination).
“It is not that these institutions have not been talking to Sheriff to make him see reasons, the IGP and the DG SSS intervened and asked for a political solution. They are to maintain law and order. We all respect that.
“We are politicians and none of us will turn down a request to find a political solution to our political issues. Sen. Sheriff can nominate but we need to consult before doing so. We are open to discussions.”
Attempts to get a reaction from Prof. Wale Oladipo, former National Secretary to the party who has pitched his tent with Sheriff, were unsuccessful. Repeated calls to his mobile phone were neither picked nor returned.
However, Sheriff’s Special Adviser (Media), Mr. Inuwa Bwala said, “The position of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff on all these issues is clear; he is the authentic National Chairman of the PDP, the law and the PDP Constitution do not recognise the contraption called Caretaker Committee.
“As chairman, he welcomes every genuine effort to reconcile all members of the party so that we can put this ugly chapter behind us and move forward.”
Further findings revealed that while consultations were ongoing, the two groups were pursuing their cases in court which they hope would bring a final resolution of the conflict.
The Senate and the House of Representatives caucuses of the PDP on Saturday differed on the crisis rocking the party.
While the House caucus of the PDP chastised the party leaders for their handling of the crisis, its Senate counterpart said it would support the position of the Ahmed Makarfi Caretaker Committee and the Board of Trustees.
Some PDP members in the Senate, who spoke with one of our correspondents on Saturday, restated their earlier position to support the Makarfi-led caretaker committee to succeed in its assignment.
They also said that the PDP caucus in the upper chamber had also agreed to support the position of the party’s Board of Trustees, which was acting purely on the constitution of the party.
For instance, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Information, Enyinnaya Abaribe, said the National Assembly caucus of the PDP had already taken a position to support the Makarfi’s caretaker committee.
He said, “We are for Makarfi and we will continue to support any action that would bring about lasting peace in the party.”
Also, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, Samuel Anyanwu, said the senators, being leaders of the party in their own right, are for the peace of the party.
He said, “The National Assembly members are not expected to take sides being leaders of the party.
“We will always support whatever the constitution of the party says and as party leader, the position of the BoT is supreme. We would not however, any move to ridicule or disgrace any leader of the party. We would do everything possible to ensure peace”
Anyanwu, just like his other colleagues ruled out the possibility of anybody pulling out of the party because of the current crisis.
He said, “Nobody will defect in the senate because we are party leaders. Some of us are founding members. Where do we go again? All other parties have their own crisis and we can manage our own better than them. We will soon get over it.”
But among members of the party in the House of Representatives, the mood is that of unhappiness over the way the leaders of the PDP have allowed the factional crisis to fester.
Findings showed that the crisis had not divided the caucus as they still voted on resolutions of the House as “members of one family.”
The members of the caucus remain united under one leader, who is also the Minority Leader of the House, Mr. Leo Ogor.
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