The Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje faction of the Peoples Democratic Party has accused a factional National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur of attempts to smear the image of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
The Baraje faction also said it was set for reconciliation but that the ball was now in the court of the Bamanga faction to accede to the reconciliation efforts of elders of the party.
In a statement last Wednesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, the Baraje faction said by accusing Obasanjo of being behind the decision of the faction to stage a walkout at the Special National Convention of the party in Abuja, Tukur was trying to smear the international reputation of the former president.
Eze said in the statement that the import of Tukur’s statement was also that those who walked out of the convention ground could not take independent decisions.
The faction said no matter the number of court cases instituted by Tukur and his faction, they were ready to fight the cause of restoring democracy to the PDP.
The statement reads: “Yesterday, 10th of September, 2013, four of the progressive seven State Governors (Babangida Aliyu of Niger, Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano, Murtala Nyako of Adamawa and Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara) loyal to the Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje-led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) met with President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan in Abuja in connection with the crisis currently rocking our party.
This is yet the latest in a series of gestures made by PDP under Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje’s leadership to amicably resolve the crisis orchestrated by the party’s factional National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur for reasons we cannot fathom. Unfortunately, the belligerence of the Alhaji Tukur-led National Working Committee (NWC) has so far frustrated all efforts being made by the Party Leader, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, as well as by PDP Elders such as Dr. Ahmadu Ali, Dr Barnabas Gemade and former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Ibrahim Babangida to amicably resolve the crisis. We plead with them not to be deterred by those who are feeding fat on the crisis as we are ready to assist them in any way possible to enable them restore peace to our great party.
The latest of the belligerent actions by the Tukur faction is the ill-advised move to take over the party’s structures in the States of the Governors loyal to Baraje’s leadership. We wish to advise Tukur and his NWC against this or any other action capable of worsening the crisis. We say: Enough is Enough!
Meanwhile, we wish to commend the Party Leader, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, and PDP elders for their various efforts at resolving this crisis which, if allowed to continue, can only lead to the further weakening of our great party. We appeal to them never to tire until they achieve their set objectives. We also appeal to Alhaji Tukur and his NWC to respect these distinguished party elders and give peace a chance. The ball is in his court.
Mr. President should not be deceived by some party leaders who are making him believe that he can do without us. Most of these leaders currently cannot under a properly organised free and fair elections win their wards. It is obvious that no presidential election in Nigeria can be won without states like Rivers, Kano, Sokoto, Adamawa, Kwara and Niger States, Kebbi, and these are states we are controlling. Check the past general elections and see that some of these media-created PDP leaders have no followers in their states at the moment talk less of making any impact come 2015″.
Attack On General Olusegun Obasanjo and Chief Tony Anenih Cannot Solve the Self-Inflicted Crisis by The Tukur’s Faction on PDP.
We have noticed the erroneous insinuation and propaganda by Tukur’s faction that the distinguished statesman, General Oulsegun Obasanjo, had a hand in our staging a walkout during the ill-conceived mini-convention of PDP and that he is the brain behind most of our activities.
We are also aware of the attempts being made to rubbish and ridicule the BOT Chairman, Chief Tony Anenih, for stating that we have genuine reasons for what we are doing. We want to assure Chief Anenih, knowing all his sacrifices and efforts in making PDP whatever it is by today, that we will not sit and watch some jokers in Tukur’s faction rubbish him or make him look ordinary in the affairs of the party. The truth will always see us through.
Actually, what are we asking for? We are asking that internal democracy be allowed to thrive within the party and that Tukur and his undemocratic gang should not see the party as their personal property in which they can wake up any day and fire whoever they dreamt about in their sleep. We will no longer condone such undemocratic reasoning and acts. Enough is enough! No matter how many times he wants to take us to court to ask that we be committed to prison, we are not deterred or afraid of going to prison. We are bent on achieving our aim of restoring democratic normalcy within the PDP as envisaged by the founding fathers of the party. This is a battle to which we have committed ourselves and there is no going back until undemocratic elements within our party are flushed out as their acts have done much harm and brought much shame to our great party”.