The Nation Newspaper

Tag: PDP

  • ‘PDP National Secretary must be from Osun’

    A Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain in Osun State, Prince Bola Oyebowale, has said the party’s National Secretary must be picked from the state.

    Speaking with reporters in Osogbo, the state capital, Oyebowale said the post must remain in Osun because the former National Secretary, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, was removed from office.

    He said the state party is blessed with capable leaders, who can fill the vacant position.

    Oyebowale said: “The PDP National leadership should realise that in the Southwest, Osun PDP is the only one that is not factionalised. Osun has many qualified and brilliant party loyalists that can fill the position.

    “It would be unwise for the party to pick the national secretary from another state in the Southwest.”

  • Opponents list Tukur’s sins as PDP crisis goes on

    Opponents list Tukur’s sins as PDP crisis goes on

    All is still not well with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as forces opposed to National Chairman Bamanga Tukur plan to convene an emergency National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting.

    Backed by some governors, the anti-Tukur party chiefs are compiling breaches allegedly committed by Tukur.

    The party’s last NEC meeting was held in July, last year, contrary to the quarterly provision in the PDP Constitution.

    Tukur has been avoiding a NEC meeting, following an alleged plot to pass a vote of no confidence in him.

    A source close to the planners of the NEC, who spoke in confidence with our correspondent, said: “Some powerful interest groups within the Peoples Democratic Party are said to be pushing for the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the party.

    “They want to invoke the relevant sections of the PDP Constitution in an attempt to make Tukur address issues affecting the party.

    “They are also planning to make Tukur to account for alleged breaches of the PDP Constitution.

    “If Tukur does not convene NEC meeting, they will seek the consent of two-thirds of party members to call for the session.

    “The move becomes necessary in view of Tukur’s leadership style in the last one year, which has fragmented the party, which prides itself as the largest in Africa.

    “The proponents of the management audit of Tukur’s style asserted that this is in line with the national chairman’s belief that PDP is greater than any individual and party members should subject themselves to the rules and regulations of the PDP.”

    Another top source listed Tukur’s alleged breaches as follows:

    •deliberate failure to convene the PDP NEC meeting and removal of some NWC members;

    •operation of a parallel National Working Committee(NWC);

    •shifting of the party’s official functions to personal residence;

    •polarisation of the NWC;

    •alleged refusal to operate the principle of accountability which would allow stakeholders of PDP to be carried along; and

    •disobedience of court order and refusal to honour the provisions on freedom, equality and justice; violating the independence of the Judiciary and fundamental rights of members of the party, as well as promoting divisions among various interests in the PDP.

    The source said: “The consensus of some governors and PDP leaders is that Tukur should step aside and face the PDP disciplinary committee.

    “Furthermore, those angling for disciplinary action against Tukur have argued that there must be efficiency in a serious and credible political movement like the PDP for the party to continue to occupy the front seat in the political arrangement in Nigeria.

    “They alleged that PDP is being run as a fiefdom, in spite of the fact that its National Working Committee, which is responsible for the day-to-day management of the organization, is accountable to its supporters and sympathisers through the National Executive Council of the party.

    “ But no NEC meeting has been held since July last year following fears that the national chairman could be disgraced out of office, should the quarterly meeting be convened.”

    It is being alleged that following the removal of the three PDP national officers at the Party secretariat, the national chairman successfully intimidated other members of the NWC and took many unilateral decisions which are negatively rubbing on the image and administration of the Party.

    Tukur is said to have literally shifted the registered national headquarters of the PDP to his Wuse 11, Abuja home where all important meetings of the NWC and PDP have been holding since January. He reportedly took the decision as a result of his allegation that deliberations of NWC conducted at the party headquarters were filtering out of PDP national headquarters.

    “But what was the Acting National Secretary, Solomon Onwe, the current custodian of the rules and regulations of the PDP, looking at as the chief administrative and accounting officer? Could it be that he brought him in as a stooge, who is unsure of himself to do biddings of the national chairman; right or wrong? Onwe should be sanctioned alongside Tukur for not protecting the PDP Constitution and allowing the party’s name and image to be dragged in the mud,” another source said.

    He added: “Those pushing for disciplinary action against is alleging, through media interviews, that all his actions were approved by the Presidency, claiming that he meets with the President, who is the National Leader of PDP, 8.00pm every Monday.

    “His antagonists, however, assert that if he is truly meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan, there is every likelihood that the national chairman was feeding the president with half-truths or false information, in an attempt to feather his own nest, as the President would not likely approve of measures that would promote disintegration of the party.

    “They say that they are sure that President Jonathan, noted for his respect for the rule of law, would never agree to any proposal to humiliate Justices of the Court of Appeal, through PDP’s respect of a ruling of the Federal High Court.”

     

  • 2015: ACN control of Southwest is setback for PDP, says secret memo

    2015: ACN control of Southwest is setback for PDP, says secret memo

    •Party leaders demand heavy patronage from Fed Govt to dislodge ACN

     

    Barely two years after the loss of the Southwest, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)is still in dilemma on how to wrest power from the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

    Some PDP leaders have told Governor Ibrahim Shema’s peace panel that the control of the Southwest by the ACN has dampened the morale of members of the party.

    They said to regain any state in 2014 or 2015, PDP members in the zone need heavy patronage from the Federal Government.

    But, in one of the secret memos to the peace panel, the party chiefs claimed that there appears to be no hope for PDP because of the crisis in Ogun State which led to the removal of three members of the National Working Committee.

    The sacked members are ex-National Secretary Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola; ex-National Vice-Chairman (Southwest),Segun Oni and a former National Auditor, Chief Bode Mustapha.

    The panel had been looking into the problems facing PDP in the Southwest and how to dislodge the ACN.

    But some of the memos said regaining the Southwest is herculean.

    The memo reads in part:” Today, the threats of the opposition in making dangerous incursions into the PDP in the zone are real, as a result of several factors, including the subject under reference which has brought about great disenchantment among PDP members in the zone.

    “Quite naturally, the loss of PDP governments in the last elections to the Action Congress of Nigeria in five out of the six states in the Southwest zone dampened the morale of members of our party in the zone.

    “I must also state that the losses suffered by our party could be ascribed largely to internal struggles for political offices and positions, particularly the feverish struggle by the governorship aspirants which split PDP down the line.

    “Whoever has bothered to study the pattern of reaction of the electorate in the South-west would agree that the zone is inhabited by independent-minded people, whose reactions to political issues are determined by several factors, including the high level of education and political sophistry, as well as their reactions to matters pertaining to their political leaders and environment.”

    They claimed that the recent removal of three NWC members is a setback for the anti-ACN project.

    The memo added: “ It is to be noted that the leadership of the PDP in the Southwest came on the scene with a very strong determination to evolve a drastic change, inspiring new political aims and aspirations, and a change that would earn our Party the control of the Governments of the Southwest states from 2014, when governorship elections are scheduled to hold in Osun and Ekiti states.

    “I am convinced that Southwest PDP, within the relatively short period of His Excellency, Segun Oni’s leadership, did everything possible to provide a responsible leadership that guaranteed an enlightened followership and which did everything possible to bring about the unity of members of the PDP in the zone.

    “I would say, with every sincerity that the Southwest PDP was, until Oni’s removal, led with every sincerity and purposefulness that allowed us to plan and strategise effectively to neutralise the opposition and their antics.”

    The leaders asked for huge political patronage to be able to check ACN.

    The memo said: “ From available indications, one issue that has been of great concern to the supporters of our great Party has been that of political patronage.

    “Several times, they have canvassed the feeling that the zone is not adequately catered for in the distribution of political offices at the national level.

    “I must state that the absence of PDP governments in the Southwest states must have naturally narrowed down the level of patronage which could have been supplemented by political appointments in the states and local governments. The situation could be said to have increased dependence on the Federal Government and by implication, its responsibilities and prerogatives.

    “Those of us in leadership positions made sure to impress it on our political followers that PDP at the national level would do everything possible, within reasonable limits, to satisfy the aspirations and support of the PDP in the Southwest zone for the national leadership of our great Party.

    “We could still do this by catering for diverse interests by tilting appointments at the federal level generally, in favour of the Southwest zone, which is generally believed to be disadvantaged at the moment.

    “The incidents treated in this compilation are very strong factors that cannot in any way be divorced from heightened fears of irrelevance and negative feelings nursed by a considerable number of members of the PDP in the zone.”

     

  • Cleric predicts more troubles for PDP

    Cleric predicts more troubles for PDP

    There are more troubles ahead for the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Lagos-based seer, Prophet Ekong Ituen, has warned.

    He said the crisis in the party will worsen and affect its fortunes in the 2015 general elections.

    Ituen, who is the founder of Christ Deliverance Ministries (CDM) , Lagos, in a chat, said: “PDP will be engulfed with serious crises that will rock the foundation of the party.

    “There will be division and disunity among them and Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, their National Chairman, will be faced with many challenges.

    “Based on what I saw in the spirit, it will become difficult for PDP to win 2015 presidential polls.”

    He pointed out the crisis of confidence between some PDP governors and President Goodluck Jonathan is a manifestation of an earlier prophecy, which was not heeded.

    The cleric warned: “what is happening now in their midst is a tip of the iceberg compared with what lies ahead against the party.”

    He tasked the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) to pray against the death of another member before the year runs out.

    On militancy, Ituen stated the development will deteriorate and lead to the rise of another terrorist organisation in the Niger Delta with more devastating attacks.

    He appealed to the federal government to convene a solemn assembly where credible men of God will lift up the nation in prayers for divine intervention.

    According to him: “I have a strong conviction this nation will be totally delivered from evil machination of the devil and his human agents.

    “We only need to gather men of God to pray and bring down the hands of God.”

  • SURE-P largesse tears PDP apart

    SURE-P largesse tears PDP apart

    A fresh round of crisis is brewing in the Lagos State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over the distribution of the Subsidy Re-investment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) funds allocated to the state.

    In a statement issued by a group in the party which calls itself ‘Concerned PDP Stakeholders, Lagos State’, they accused the coordinator of SURE-P in the state, Chief Bode Oyedele, and another chieftain of the party, Chief Olabode George, of allegedly diverting the funds and also favouring their cronies and supporters as beneficiaries of the programme.

    The statement, which was signed by Dr. Olusegun Oluwole, the coordinator of the group, called on President Goodluck Jonathan to sack Oyedele without further delay.

    Describing Oyedele as lacking grassroots influence to mobilise support for the PDP in the 2015 general elections, the ‘concerned stakeholders’ called for the immediate dissolution of the Lagos State executive of the party, which it said its members were allegedly imposed by George.

    While calling on Jonathan not to rely on some chieftains of the party, the group posited these individuals, including George and the chairman of the party in the state, Chief Tunji Shelle, do not command the followership of a majority of members of the party in the state.

    But in his reaction to this allegation, Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Taofik Gani, denied the existence of the group.

    He said, “We (PDP) don’t have anybody that bears that name (Oluwole) in our party. The truth is, we are prepared for more of this blackmail. The strategy is to distract us but we won’t be distracted.”

    On the alleged misappropriation of the SURE-P funds, Taofik explained: “There is no money that has been given to Chief Bode Oyedele. As a matter of fact, the man (Oyedele) is not happy that he was saddled with this responsibility without being backed with funds. This allegation is all about the 2015 election, but all I can say is that we are prepared and we would not be deterred by such frivolous allegations.”

  • Fayemi wins three appeals against PDP

    Fayemi wins three appeals against PDP

    Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi yesterday won three cases instituted by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the Court of Appeal, sitting in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital.

    In the case in which PDP opposed the constitution of the State Independent Electoral Commission (EKSIEC), Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam ordered that the case be retried.

    The High Court, presided over by Justice John Adeyeye dissolved the EKSIEC, saying there was evidence that its members were card-carrying members of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), as alleged by PDP.

    Justice Onyemenam faulted the judgment of the lower court, insisting that the plaintiff should have tendered Certified True Copies (CTC) of the credentials of the EKSIEC members, instead of photocopies.

    She said the plaintiff failed to explore all possible means to access the CTC of the credentials.

    Justice Onyemenam said the letter PDP claimed to have written to the House of Assembly requesting the release of the CTC, which it said was declined, did not justify tendering secondary evidence before the court.

    She said the plaintiff could have subpoenaed the Clerk of the House to present the CTC of the documents and directed that the case be tried afresh at the State High Court.

    In the second and third cases concerning the prayers of the former EKSIEC Chairman, Maj.-Gen Kayode Oni and others; and that of the former Chairman of the House of Assembly Service Commission, Mr. Bunmi Ogunleye, seeking payment for the period they should have spent in office, the court upturned the verdict of the High Court.

    The courts said members of the two commissions are not entitled to any financial benefit from the present administration because their appointment lacked “statutory backing”.

    Justices Olukayode Bada and Modupe Fasanmi said the appointment of members of the commissions was based on the ex-governor’s preference, with no statutory force.

  • Subsidy removal is PDP agenda

    Subsidy removal is PDP agenda

    SIR: I believe the President does not learn from the past. Most of his actions are unpresidential but he is yet to admit that. Why does the president like to inflict pains on Nigerians deliberately? The subsidy he had promised to remove again is not really responsible for our backwardness but his negligence and nonchalant attitude towards corruption. His decision to remove subsidy again would rather cause unrest.

    The president should know that Nigerians are hungry and unhappy with his policies since he came into power. Nigerians voted for him because of the love they have for him and because of the name he bears. Why is the president now acting conversely to his name? It is surprising that the man who told Nigerians that he had no shoes and Nigerians bought one for him is now the one who pays deaf ears to the cries of the people.

    Removal of subsidy is not what is hindering our developmental process but corruption. There is intense corruption in the system. Our President should cleanse the system by bringing corrupt elements to book. Instead of seeking for ways to punish the subsidy cabals, the president is rather seeking for ways to impoverish Nigerians and enrich the PDP because I believe the subsidy removal is a PDP agenda.

    The party’s agenda has now become the country’s agenda. Nigerians must now be regretting voting President Jonathan into power. The promise he made to surprise his critics in 2013 has begun to manifest; it is written on the wall for Nigerians to read. I hope Nigerians won’t be gullible once again in 2015.

    Halima Hassana Abdulmalik

    IBB University, Lapai, Niger State.

  • Why governors shunned PDP’s peace meeting

    Why governors shunned PDP’s peace meeting

    Anenih in rescue mission to Kano

    Tukur: it wasn’t for governors

     

    LEADERS of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have launched a desperate battle to put its peace moves back on track.

    Many governors shunned the grand finale of the party’s peace tour on Sunday in Abuja because of National Chairman Bamanga Tukur’s refusal to convene the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting, The Nation learnt last night.

    It was also learnt that the governors – 16 of them stayed away from the meeting – are unhappy over the lukewarm attitude of the party to their problems, especially the insecurity in Kano State.

    But sensing danger, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Chief Tony Anenih, yesterday launched a rescue-PDP-mission to appease the aggrieved governors.

    Anenih, apparently realising that Tukur’s reconciliation tour had left the party more divided, met with Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso yesterday in Kano.

    According to a governor, who pleaded not to be named, the governors are opposed to the breaching of the party’s constitution by Tukur.

    The source said: “Part of our grouse is that the National Chairman has refused to call a NEC meeting since July 2012. Instead, he is trying to bully or whip everyone into line, as if we are school boys.

    “We do not know why the party leadership has refused to comply with the provision of PDP Constitution on NEC. We learnt that Tukur is afraid that we might use the NEC to pass a vote of no confidence in him.

    “We will not honour him, until he abides by Section 12.74 of the PDP Constitution.”

    The section reads: “The NEC shall meet at least once in every quarter at the instance of the chairman or at the request of two-third of its membership, who shall notify the chairman at least seven days prior to the meeting and an emergency meeting be summoned by the National Chairman having regard to all the circumstances of the agenda.”

    The governor also alleged that PDP under Tukur had “lukewarm attitude to the problems in some PDP controlled states, especially the security challenges in Kano State.

    “We are all unhappy with Tukur’s leadership but our national leader, President Goodluck Jonathan, appears to be more at home with him because of the 2015 presidential election.”

    Anenih met with Kwankwaso in company of a former President of the Senate, Chief Ken Nnamani; three former national chairmen of PDP- Chief Barnabas Gemade, Senator Ahmadu Ali, and Dr. Haliru Bello Mohammed – Chief Ebenezer Babatope and Air Vice Marshal Larry Koinyan(rtd).

    A party source said: “With the failure of the reconciliatory tour of the National Chairman of PDP, Chief Tony Anenih has now been saddled with the responsibility of salvaging the party from collapse.

    “As a matter of fact, Anenih conceived the reconciliation programme but while he was trying to implement his vision, Tukur emerged from nowhere with the failed reconciliatory tours.

    “Most PDP governors, stalwarts and members boycotted Tukur’s tour because it was not well-intended.

    “I think we may have good reasons to listen to Anenih, who does not mind to call a spade a spade.”

    The failed reconciliation marked the second challenge Tukur would face in one year.

    The G-84 members in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had on January 9, 2013 written President Goodluck Jonathan, claiming that the party was stinking.

    The G-84 comprises eight deputy members of the National Working Committee (NWC), 24 ex-officio, 37 state chairmen of PDP and some former leaders of the party.

    They alleged that the National Working Committee (NWC) was becoming cultish, with the total exclusion of elected officers of the party.

    They urged President Jonathan, as the national leader, to save the party from brinkmanship.

    The issues tabled before the President by the G-84 are:

    •breach of PDP constitution by not holding National Executive Committee(NEC) meeting;

    •wrongful and consistent misinterpretation of PDP constitution;

    •management of the party in a cultish nature;

    •exclusion of elected party officers by NWC;

    •Wasting of party resources on personal events, functions, and chartering of aircraft;

    •Fixing of wages and allowances by NWC members to the detriment of other elected officers; and

    •arbitrary sharing of honourarium both in cash and kind.

    The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal, yesterday said he did not boycott the meeting.

    Tambuwal, who spoke through his Special Adviser on Media, Alhaji Imam Imam, said he was away in UK.

    “The Speaker was in the UK on a visit when the meeting was held. He has not returned to the country,” Imam said.

    Also yesterday, Tukur rose in defence of the governors who failed to attend the Abuja parley.

    In a statement from his office, the chairman said the parley was not meant for the governors in the first place. According to him, some of the absentee governors were not in the country during the event.

    However, the programme of events circulated at the venue indicated that the governors were expected to arrive at 2.15pm.

    Only the governor of Akwa Ibom, Godswill Akpabio and his Kogi State counterpart, Idris Wada, attended the event. Four others sent their deputies.

    Tukur said: “Many of the governors were absent from the rally mainly because they were part of the reconciliation meetings in their respective zones, and had made useful contributions during the visit by the National Working Committee members, a reason it was never compelling for them to be in Abuja.

    “Some of the governors were not in Nigeria during the weekend event while others contacted the national headquarters about their inability to be in Abuja for the rally with stated reasons.

    “The reconciliation meetings across the zones and Abuja were meant for members, most especially those who were estranged, and not necessarily for state governors who had played their parts meaningfully in the party’s reconciliation agenda at the zonal level.”

    The statement also quoted Tukur as describing the reconciliation initiative as a huge success.

    “We were in the southeast zone and the governors turned out. When we visited the southsouth, Governors Uduaghan, Akpabio and Amaechi came to welcome us and made useful suggestions.

    “Indeed, the Rivers State governor spoke to us on behalf of all the PDP governors. Bayelsa State governor, I reckoned was busy with a special task, while the same story of success trailed our visit to the north”, the chairman added.

    Tukur appealed to the media to show a deeper understanding in the party’s efforts to promote democracy, inclusiveness and a sense of harmony among members.

    According to to him, the party remains the best political instrument for deepening democracy in the country.

    He said the PDP would always be ready to partner with the media in the task of nation building, appealing to the media not to give a chance to those he described as pseudo-democrats whose sole agenda is to pull down the PDP while having nothing tangible to offer Nigeria.

    Tukur continued: “This is the first time in the history of democracy in Nigeria that the NWC of a party would embark on a nationwide tour on reconciliation drive.

    “This is the first time that the leadership of the party went out of comfort to have a feel of what has been happening to our members at the grassroots. This is the first time that we are making conscious efforts to return the party to the owners; the ordinary members.

    “Who should appreciate these kind of efforts, if not you people in the media? If we are making efforts to promote peace in national interest, no right thinking person or group of persons should make attempts to promote hate and cause disharmony.

    “I think the media should not join the pseudo-democrats, the demagogues and treacherous fellows who always love to reap from chaos and crises. This is why we require media support in our desire to re-invent politics and recreate Nigeria.”

    The party chair said the PDP would never succumb to blackmail, coming from those he described as virulent opponents of the party whose desire is to paint a picture of a PDP being at war with itself.

    He stressed that the PDP has always been in a healthy accord with its members and all its governors, as evident by the encouraging outcome of the reconciliation tours across the federation.

    Tukur was quoted to also have said that the PDP had realised that imposition of candidates during elections had been the root cause of the misunderstanding within the party.

    The party, he said, has been fashioning out agenda to promote internal democracy and transparency in future elections, as a means of earning the confidence of its members.

  • 2015: PDP raises panel to woo opposition governors, says Akpabio

    THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday moved to stop its dwindling fortune. It raised a committee to woo opposition governors to its fold ahead of the next general elections in 2015.

    Akwa Ibom Governor Godswill Akpabio, who doubles as the chair of the PDP Governors’ Forum, said this yesterday in a chat with State House correspondents.

    He spoke after meeting President Goodluck Jonathan.

    According to him, the move to reach out to the governors elected on the platform of opposition parties is aimed at having at least 30 governors under the PDP by next election.

    He, however, declined to name members of the committee, insisting that there was no crack in PDP.

    Akpabio said that the reported overtures by the opposition to some PDP governors would not work.

    Said he: “The only truly national party in Nigeria is the PDP. It is the PDP that can make overtures towards others and we PDP governors are poised to bring our colleagues from the other parties to join us. This is what we are trying to do now.

    “There is no overture that anybody will make, PDP is too large and organised. We have set up a tactical committee to also reach out to the opposition (in quote) because we want to be more than what we are.

    “We started with over 30 governors, now we have been reduced to 23 and there is the need for us to come together. We should be over 30 in the next election and this seems to have rattled the opposition.”

    “I can tell you that even now the opposition is rattled. You can see the barrage of attacks on the chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum. This is a sign that the opposition is rattled because there is really no need for the attack.

     

     

     

  • 2015 will be war for PDP, says Tukur

    2015 will be war for PDP, says Tukur

    •Says ruling party won’t allow ‘new group’ to ‘sweep mat off our feet’

     

    National Chairman of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, yesterday warned his party members that the emergence of the All Progressive Congress (APC) is for real and poses a formidable threat in the 2015 elections.

    “There is a group that just came up and wants to sweep the mat off our feet,” Tukur said in a veiled reference to the APC at a meeting of the Northwest zone of the PDP in Kaduna.

    Three of the six PDP governors in the zone -Sule Lamido of Jigawa, Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano) and Aliyu Wamako (Sokoto) -were absent at the meeting.

    It was, however, attended by Governors Ibrahim Shema of Katsina State, Usman Dakingari (Kebbi) and the host, Mukthar Ramalan Yero.

    Continuing, the PDP Chairman said: “PDP is all about patronage. We are going to dole out our patronage to all our members who remain in the party.

    “I am here to tell all our supporters about the virtue of patience. Patience is such a priceless thing, that the Hausa people say, ‘a patient man can cook a stone and drink its sauce’. I want to plead with our members in this zone to imbibe this teaching.

    “This is because without patience, we will all be in disarray. And we cannot afford to be. There is a heavy war ahead in 2015. A group has come up and wants to sweep the mat off our feet. We cannot allow that to happen. The PDP is the only party that is not religious, not sectional or tribal. We are one big party, and we intend, and we must remain so.

    “What I am saying here is what I told our supporters in the South West. They are not happy, because of the problem they face in the party in that zone, a minority has taken over power there.

    “Let me inform you. We are going to give patronage to all our members who have contested elections and lost. There is enough in the party to go round everyone. There is no need to leave the party.”

    Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo who was at the meeting asked members to unite for the rebuilding of the party.

    “This tour undertaken as part of the celebration of the first anniversary of the national working committee is also in line with the reconciliation, reformation and Rebuilding agenda of the party chairman,” he said, adding, “As a party that is fully organised and vibrant, well noted for its adoption of rule of law and natural justice in the discharge of its activities, the decision to embark on this tour in order to properly position the party to face future challenges is indeed paramount.

    “The assembly of the crème of our party faithful at this meeting only signals and lends credence to our desire to ensure that we develop new ideas, initiatives and innovations that will further solidify the party and move it forward.

    “I therefore call on us to approach today’s meeting with a clear mind and conscience and to develop more pragmatic ways that will consolidate the strength of our party by embarking on people-oriented projects and programmes in each tier of government that will not only improve the lives of our people but will create wealth amongst our citizens.

    “We must shun all overtures by those who are bent on destroying the party through anti-party activities and be unified in our quest to strengthen a party that has made its mark and improved the lives and well-being of our citizens. We must be unified and steadfast for the growth and strength of our great party and in the interest of our dear citizens.

    “Our actions speak for us. Our laudable programmes at all the three tiers of government coupled with our respect for rule of law, good governance and democratic tenets serve as our trademark. It is in this regard that it becomes pertinent among members of this great party to carry this trademark wherever we go as a good product sells itself.

    “Our greatest asset is our unity of purpose and acceptability as the only national party that has as its centre piece the popular slogan ‘Power to the People’. Once we are fully reconciled, rebuilt and reformed, we shall continue with our capability of tackling any opposition from any quarters of this country.”