Fayose, Wike should apologise for the present crisis in PDP

Emmanuel Nwosu Butches is the convener of the Restart PDP Project, an initiative of stake­holders of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to reposition and restructure the party. He tells CHUKS OYEMA-AZIKE why Ekiti and Rivers States’ governors must apologise for their roles in the ongoing crisis bedevilling the party. Excerpts:

The recent judgment of a Port Harcourt Federal High Court affirming the appointment of the Senator Ahmed Markafi-led National Care­taker Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has been hailed by Ekiti State Governor Ayo­dele Fayose, who said the judgment has resolved all issues concerning the lead­ership of the PDP, while calling on all genuine lov­ers of the party to sheath their swords and support the National Caretaker Committee in the overall interest of the party.

Fayose said: “I am happy that the court has finally put to rest all issues con­cerning the leadership of the PDP because the Federal High Court, Port-Harcourt judgment, which affirmed the Port-Harcourt National Convention that dissolved the Senator Ali Modu Sheriff-led Nation­al Working Committee and constituted the Sena­tor Markafi-led National Caretaker Committee is a declarative judgment and not an interim order or in­terlocutory injunction.”

However the role of Fay­ose in the emergence of Sheriff has received the condemnation of some of the party members who said the lingering crisis in PDP is a fall-out of that de­cision, with the Convener, Restart PDP Project, Engr. Emmanuel Nwosu Butches saying: “Basically we knew PDP would get to where it is today, we forewarned the leadership of the party and stakeholders that if we failed to abide by the con­stitution of the party, and stop imposition, we will get into a difficult position that we cannot escape from, but nobody listened to us.”

Nwosu said Fayose played a role in the crisis that has plagued the party of recent, with what some party members say is the imposition of Sheriff as National Chairman.

Butches said: “When people like Governors Fayose and Nyesom Wike started this their game, we raised the alarm. There is no way we can practice true democracy in Nige­ria without internal party discipline and obedience to the constitution of the party. We have said the party constitution cannot allow for a group of people to produce the National Chairman of the party, you must follow the laid down process.”

 

 

He described as continu­ation of impunity in other­wise what should be a par­ty striving for reinvention after the dismal outing in the 2015 general elections, saying that the era of impo­sition of party leaders will do the party no good.

He said: “Secondly, you cannot say you are a gover­nor and must decide who is National Chairman of the party to the exclusion of men and women who have laboured for years for this party, you went and brought somebody who has spent barely two years in the party to become the National Chairman, and you claim he has big pock­et, so the major criteria is how wealthy you are, no more commitment to the party and the belief’s of the party?

“Until people who arro­gate powers to themselves are weeded from the party, the party will never get up.”

On Fayoses support for Sheriff, Nwosu said: “Fay­ose was on television saying the best thing to happen to PDP is Sheriff, saying if Sheriff is not the National Chairman, he will leave the party, there was no type of intimidation and gimmick he did not deploy in the Sheriff project, what has changed between then and now?

“Except that Fayose told us lies on television. The truth was made bare in Port-Harcourt. Fayose, Wike and Umahi were all part of the people that had agreement with Sheriff that has landed the party in this crisis.”

 

 

He said genuine mem­bers with good intention will eventually take over the running of the party, adding: “When they fin­ish their shenanigan, we are going to rescue the party and hand it over to the members. We have proposed a way out of this situation. How did PDP get to this situation? Impunity, recklessness and imposi­tion. Those of us commit­ted to re-engineering the party, at the long run, we will succeed.

“PDP governors must steer clear from party af­fairs, the PDP Governors’ Forum is not recognised. Sheriff as an individual is competent to be the chair­man of the party, but let the right process be fol­lowed; we have always said that the right thing must be done. We insist on respect for the constitution of the party irrespective of whom and what political position you hold.”

Insisting that Governors Fayose and Wike should tender unreserved apology to members of the party, particularly to members of the Restart PDP Proj­ect, who have laboured to preserve the dignity of PDP, Butches added: “They should apologise for bring­ing Sheriff through the back door and throwing the party into this crisis, for their role in the emergence of Sheriff. It was both of them that held meeting to bring in Sheriff.”

 

 

On suggestions by some that the PDP crisis is be­ing fuelled by ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Nwosu said: “Do we now say Fayose and Wike are working for APC? Both men worked openly for Sheriff to be National Chairman, so can we say both of them are working with APC to cripple PDP? We all know that Olusegun Mimiko and Seriake Dick­son were vehement in their rejection of Sheriff then, these are complete gentle­men. The destruction of PDP is not external, but in­ternal. It is a shame that a year old APC pushed PDP out of power.”

On the way out of the cri­sis, he calls for a return to the true ideals of democ­racy, emergence of new faces to run the party and stoppage of imposition.

He said: “By 2019, I can assure you that PDP will be in crisis if these court cases are not resolved. What will help the party is restructuring. What we need now is neutral people to head the party, Sheriff and Makarfi should give way in the interest of the party.

“It is time for PDP to look inwards and get peo­ple who can proffer genu­ine solution to the crises.

“After the 2015 election, some of our members said that APC was going to dis­integrate, we advised then on the need to solve our internal crisis, they never believed us.”

Restart PDP Project is a joint PDP members’ and stakeholders’ initia­tive, aimed at holistically restructuring and reposi­tioning the party in order to give back the machinery

of the party to the people, through a democratic pro­cess that is free, fair and transparent; so as to en­sure party supremacy and internal democracy. - The Authority