United PDP will ‘capture’ 13 opposition states – Reconciliation Committee

Published:August 14,2013

The committee described the PDP as the only truly national party.

The National Reconciliation Committee, NRC, of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has said the party would “capture” the 13 states currently under the control of the opposition parties if the disagreements among its members were resolved.

A member of the committee, Ibrahim Mantu, stated this while briefing journalists on the outcome of the meeting it had with the leaders of the PDP from the 13 states at the party’s headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday.

The NRC-led by the Governor of Bayelsa State, Seriake Dickson, had invited a section of the leaderships of the party in the states in a move to reconcile aggrieved members in the states.

State branches invited to the meeting were those of Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Ondo, Osun, Ekiti, Edo, Nasarawa, Zamfara, Borno, Yobe, Imo and Anambra.

Mr. Mantu, a former Deputy President, said from the deliberations, it was discovered that some section of the country had been short-changed in the sharing of political position, particularly the cabinet slots.
He stated specifically that Borno State had always been given a Grade C position by the governments formed by the PDP.

He also said that all efforts would be made to ensure that the reconciliation efforts continued, and all issues arising from such grievances would be addressed.

Meanwhile, in his remarks before the meeting went into a closed-door session, Mr. Dickson described the PDP as the only national party hence it was able to field a presidential candidate in 1999 who did not have the support of his zone.

Apparently referring to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who was the party’s presidential candidate that year, the governor said despite the lack of home support, it still emerged victorious because it was not a religious or ethnic-based party.

Also in apparent reference to President Goodluck Jonathan, Mr. Dickson said the PDP was the only true democratic national party that, for the first time gave its presidential slot to a person from the ethnic minority to contest the presidential election.

The governor, who explained that the committee was given special mandate to reconcile aggrieved members of the ruling party in the 13 states, said it would undertake the task until everyone was reconciled.
While stressing that the party was big enough to accommodate everybody, Mr. Dickson said it could win election in those states beginning from Anambra State governorship election if the reconciliation efforts were achieved.

The governor said though there had been other reconciliation efforts in the past, the NRC was unique. He asked all the members to cooperate with it in order to forge a united party.