.Vows to fight , until justice prevails
.Labels Gov. Makinde as architect of party’s latest problems.
.Current setback won’t be the end of party, Agom-Jarigbe
FAVOUR ISHEMBER, Abuja with agency reports
Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike, has pulled out of all previous agreements reached to resolve the lingering crisis in Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Wike, who disclosed this in a statement in Abuja on Sunday, vowed to fight on until he got justice.
He said he had told Gov. Seyi Makinde of Oyo State that non-adherence to agreements reached was the bane of the party.
The minister insisted that the resolutions reached were that Sen. Samuel Anyanwu remained the National Secretary of the PDP, in line with the Supreme Court judgment.
He added that other parts of the agreement were that all legal matters relating to Rivers must be withdrawn by the National Legal Adviser.
Additionally, Wike said that it was agreed that the suit on the state of emergency in Rivers be withdrawn forthwith and that nobody should deviate from the agreements.
He argued that since the 2023 general elections, PDP had been swinging from one part of a slippery precipice to another, owing fundamentally to dishonesty and lack of trust amongst its key stakeholders.
He added that efforts had been made to arrest the ‘virus of dishonesty and treachery’, and enthrone fidelity to agreements with a view to stabilising the party and move it forward.
“To this end, a meeting of the G5 was held in Lagos. In that meeting, I made it clear to Gov. Makinde that he was the architect of our problems. I pointed out to him that non-adherence to agreements reached was the bane of the party, and that he was the chief culprit of this anomaly.
“At the end of the meeting, we resolved to bury the hatchet and make progress,” he said.
Wike also said that as a follow-up to that meeting, there was an expanded meeting in Sen. Bukola Saraki’s guest house in Abuja, attended by Makinde, Gov. Umaru Fintri of Adamawa and Gov. Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State.
He said that he made it clear at the meeting that he had no personal problems with Mohammed, except that he had been hiding under the facade of Chairman of PDP Governors’ Forum to serially renege on agreements.
“Tensions rose mightily in the meeting and it took all concerned to calm frayed nerves. At the end of the meeting, we came to some resolutions, including that Sen. Samuel Anyanwu remains the National Secretary of the PDP in tandem with the Supreme Court judgment and other aforementioned agreements.
“In the light of the foregoing, they pleaded with me to attend the stakeholders’ meeting at the Bauchi Government’s Lodge, regardless of my many engagements. I attended the meeting and clearly reiterated my earlier concerns, and to this end, and to resolve all other lingering issues, a committee was formed, headed by Saraki.
“It is disheartening to note that even before the Saraki-led Reconciliation Committee began its work, the gentleman’s agreement we reached at Saraki’s guest house was already being crudely violated,” he said.
The minister said that to his annoyance, Makinde had allegedly connived With Gov. Peter Mbah of Enugu to orchestrate the summoning of the meeting of the South-East leaders.
He said that the leaders insisted that if Sunday Ude–Okoye was not adopted as secretary, they would pull out of PDP.
“I have since granted an interview to the effect that the resolution of the South-East leaders would not hold. Again, Makinde organised some people in the National Secretariat to insist that the Deputy National Secretary should act as National Secretary.
“This is also in violation of the agreement earlier reached. To attempt to give credence to this farce, a letter was written by the Deputy National Secretary, calling for a meeting of the NEC of the party,” he said.
Wike further stated that the letter confirming the governorship candidate of the party in the forthcoming governorship election in Anambra, duly signed by Anyanwu and the acting National Chairman, was portrayed as rejected by the party.
This, he said, was done through a rebuttal letter signed by the National Publicity Secretary, allegedly acting on the orders of Makinde and Mbah.
All these actions, he said, were in complete violation of the agreements reached and would not do the party any good whatsoever.
“On May 24, in Jos for instance, a well publicised and properly attended zonal elective congress of the PDP was aborted because the letter inviting INEC to the congress was signed by the Deputy National Secretary of the party.
“INEC refused to attend because the proper signatory recognised by law, that is Sen. Anyanwu, was not a signatory to the invitation notice. This, is undeniably distasteful, provocative and annoying, to say the least. I have painstakingly put out all these facts so that PDP members and the general public would know the truth,” he said.
The minister stated that he had been in the party since 1998 and had worked tirelessly for its survival with all his strength.
“It is on record that none of these persons have done anything close to what I have done to sustain this party.What is more painful is that I contributed substantially to most of these governors winning their elections, yet I have not made any personal demands on any of them and I would never do so.
“Most importantly, I had thought that we could keep the trust amongst us, but since it is now obvious that they would continue to play games to the detriment of the party, as is the case in the current debacle in the North-Central zonal elections, I have now firmly decided to pull out of all agreements hitherto reached. I have decided to fight on until justice is attained,” Wike said.
Current crisis won’t be the end of party, Agom-Jarigbe
Meanwhile, Senator Jarigbe Agom-Jarigbe has said that the current crisis rocking the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would not be the end of the party.
Atom-Jarigbe, who is Chairman, Senate Committee on Gas, expressed this optimism at a town hall meeting in Obudu on Sunday. He represents Cross River North in the National Assembly.
Agom-Jarigbe, who used the town hall to reel out his scorecard in the last two years, debunked his planned rumoured defection to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
He said that the crisis rocking the party would soon be resolved to the benefit of all.
He assured his constituents of the plan by the PDP to receive what he described as “political heavyweights” from the state’s All Progressives Congress (APC)
According to him, “It is true that there are some issues at the national level. But those issues are going to be resolved. The election is not tomorrow. The election is not next week. It is not next year. I don’t want us to distract ourselves with all of that. It’s time for governance. We have no excuse not to deliver. We want you to hold us accountable.
“Party politics is different, but I have to share a few things with you. There are issues surrounding who will be National Secretary and who will not be. But those issues will be resolved. There is nothing like the PDP will not be able to file candidates.
“By the grace of God, I will be on the ballot. Nothing is going to stop you from voting for your son and the person you want. I want to correct the impression that I’m moving from this party. I’m not moving.
“If our president, Bola Tinibu, did not stayed in opposition, he would not be president today. If our governor, Prince Otu, did not stayed in opposition, he wouldn’t have been governor today. So, nobody can come and coerce me and say that I must move to any party.
“In Obanliku Local Government, we chose one of your sons and sent him to the national assembly as a member of the House of Representatives. Today, there are insinuations that there will be no tickets for us on the platform of PDP. Please, there will be tickets for us. If he wants to leave the party, it’s for personal reasons. I am not part of it.
“It wasn’t the name of any party that voted for us. The people that voted for us are seated here. We will go by your decision and not the decision of anybody in Abuja or Calabar.”
The lawmaker explained that it was very necessary for him to interface with the people whose mandate he held to give account of his stewardship for the period of two years in the 10th assembly.
He charged the people to draw his attention to areas of concern where he needed to focus on in the next two years.
Meanwhile, a former Vice Chancellor of the University of Calabar, Prof. Zana Akpagu, has declared his intention to formally join the PDP in Cross River.
Akpagu, who joined Agom-Jarigbe at the town hall meeting, expressed satisfaction at the overwhelming demonstration of love and support for the senator.
“I want to thank you all for the show of love you have shown to your son, Sen. Agom-Jarigbe. I congratulate you on this solidarity.
“When we go back, we will discuss with others and plan a bigger rally to join the PDP. I won’t move alone. I will bring others, including (one) engr. Jacob to the PDP,” he declared.
Speaking, the state party Chairman of the PDP, Mr Vena Ikem, described Prof Akpagu as “an uncommon Vice Chancellor, who used the office to empower the people.
According to him, “I can tell you here that Ipong ward was blessed with two leaders, one a governor and the other a Vice Chancellor, and both occupied a place of prominence.
“While the former governor was busy doing food on the table, Prof Akpagu preoccupied his thought process with giving the people employments.”
For a better society
Follow us across our platforms:
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/championnewsonline/
Facebook – https://web.facebook.com/championnewsonline
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/champion-newspapers-limited/
https://x.com/championnewsng/
You can also like and comment on our YouTube videos.
https://youtu.be/QIBfD1tT80w?si=R4Qf3so2LxYu3GC2
