PDP shelves reconciliation talks as faction names Obasanjo as mediator

Published: September 3,2013

The party says Mr. Obasanjo has been brought in as mediator in the planned talks.

The reconciliation meeting scheduled for Tuesday by the national leadership of the Peoples Peoples Democratic, PDP, to resolve the political logjam in the ruling party has been postponed, the chairman of the party’s Board of Trustees, Tony Anenih, has said.

President Goodluck Jonathan and the leadership of the party have held a series of meetings with some major stakeholders of the party and some aggrieved governors who Saturday stormed out of the party’s national convention to form a parallel executive.

The party’s spokesperson, Olisa Metuh had told journalists on Monday that the series of talks being held would culminate in a final resolution of the crisis on Tuesday.

However, Mr. Anenih, told journalists on Tuesday that the peace talks had been shelved for next Tuesday to allow for broader consultation.

He said the meeting would hold after selected party leaders would have met with former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Friday as part of the wider consultations demanded by parties to the crisis.

Mr. Anenih disclosed that the aggrieved governors told the Presidency and the PDP leadership that they needed more time to make wider consultations, just as he said the presidency and the PDP leadership were not averse to wider consultations as well.

“Part of the wider consultations is the meeting of selected party leaders with Chief Olusegun Obasanjo on Friday morning and thereafter, we will meet with the governors on Tuesday, next week,” Mr. Anenih said.

Mr. Anenih had also earlier read the resolution of the meeting that held in the Presidential Villa from Sunday night till the early hours of Monday, where he expressed optimism that the problems facing the PDP would be resolved and the aggrieved governors who stormed out of the convention venue to announce a faction of the party, would come back.

“I believe some of them have genuine grievances; but I have hope that, once the grievances are addressed, they will come back. I am happy that the PDP has an internal mechanism for effective conflict resolution, and at the end of the day, the problems will be addressed and the PDP will come out of the crisis stronger,” Mr. Anenih said.