Former
chairman of the now defunct nPDP bloc within the All Progressives Congress
(APC), Alhaji Kawu Baraje, on Saturday, May 26, unveiled a list of prominent
aggrieved members of the ruling party, who attended a meeting where the group
considered three options that they might take soon.
The Punch
reports that Baraje, in a statement he signed in Abuja on Saturday, May 26,
revealed that he met with prominent members of the nPDP after the meeting he
held with the leadership of the APC in Abuja last week.
It was
gathered that he said, “Nigerians may recall that members of the former new PDP
bloc within the All Progressives Congress addressed a letter dated April 27,
2018 to the chairman of the APC where we informed the party of our grievances
and expectations from both the party and government of President Muhammadu
Buhari.
“Following
this development, the party invited us and we honoured its invitation to a
meeting. We met with the leadership of the party last week during which we
resolved to report the outcome of our meeting to our members and stakeholders
before arriving at any decision or proceeding with the next phase of
discussions or actions with the APC and government.
“I am glad to inform you, therefore, that we
have briefed our members at a meeting convened in Abuja on Wednesday, May 23,
2018, where we reviewed the state of the nation and our party, APC, and
constituted committees on various issues, especially on how to rescue Nigeria
from economic, social, political and especially security challenges.
” Baraje
listed the names of those in the defunct nPDP and others top APC chieftains,
especially members of the National Assembly, who attended the Abuja meeting.
He added,
“The meeting was well attended by members of the nPDP, including serving and former
governors, senators, members of the House of Representatives, and other
aggrieved APC stakeholders.
“Those who attended the meeting included
President of the Senate, Sen. Bukola Saraki; Speaker, House of Representatives,
Yakubu Dogara; Governor of Sokoto state, Aminu Tambuwal; Sen. Rabiu Kwankwaso;
Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola; Admiral Murtala Nyako (retd.); Sen. Mohammad
Aliero, Senator Danjuma Goje, Sen. John Enoh, Senator Andy Uba, Sen. Ibrahim
Gobir, Sen. Rufai Ibrahim and Sen. Ibrahim Danbaba. “Others are Sen. Suleman
Nazif, Sen. Isa Misau, Sen. Muhammed Shitu, Sen. Shehu Sani, Sen. Dino Melaye,
Sen. Suleiman Hunkuyi, Sen. Shaaba Lafiagi, Sen. Bala Ibn Na’Allah, Sen. David
Umaru, Sen. Barnabas Gemade; chairman, former nPDP, Alh. Abubakar Baraje; Aminu
Shagari, Kabiru Marafa, Isa Ashiru, Muh’d Soba, Mark Gbillah, Sani Rano, Garba
Durbunde, Aliyu Madaki, Zakari Mohammed, Rufai Chachangi, Razak Atunwa,
Emmanuel Udende, Hassan Saleh, Nasiru Sule, Orker Jev, Aliyu Pategi, Isah
Halilu, Rabiu Kaugama, Abdussamad Dasuki, Ismaila Gadaka, Lado Suleja, Dickson
Tarkighir, Babatunde Kolawole, Bode Ayorinde, Danjuma Shida, Danburam Nuhu,
Sunday Adepoju, Sani Zorro, Ahmed Bichi, Garba Mohammed and a host of others.”
It was also learnt that eight serving members
of the House of Representatives from Oyo state had also joined the group, but
their names were not given. A member of the National Assembly, who is one of
those listed by Baraje as having attended the meeting, but spoke on condition
of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media on the issue,
was said to have confirmed the meeting.
The source
said: “We met like our chairman said in the statement. After he briefed us
about the discussions he held on our behalf with the leadership of the APC, the
floor was thrown open for discussions and suggestions. We all agreed that we
were not being fairly treated within the APC.
“Opinions
were however divided on how best to proceed. There were those who felt we
should pull out and join a party yet to be determined. “There was the second
group which felt it was better to remain within and fight it out through
further discussions and negotiations.
“The third group consisted of those who felt
we should pull out, adopt a new platform and ensure we have a written agreement
so as to avoid a repeat of what we are seeing (experiencing) in the APC.
“At the end, it was agreed that we set up a
committee to look at the most viable option. However, the committee has yet to
be formed and we are leaving our doors open for further discussions with the
APC for now.”
Saraki’s
special adviser on media, Yusuph Olaniyonu, said he was not aware of the
meeting. “I don’t know anything about that meeting. We learnt that Baraje
issued a statement in which he made the claim. Ask him to speak more on his
claims,” he said. Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said,
without prejudice to what is happening within the All Progressives Congress
(APC), it is still forging ahead with plans to woo members of the defunct new
PDP bloc in the ruling party.
According
to Punch, the national publicity secretary of the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, said
in a telephone interview on Saturday, May 26, that the task of rescuing Nigeria
was too critical to be abandoned.
The PDP
spokesman noted that the PDP was still in talks with “all Nigerians of
goodwill, genuine democrats and those who love the country and want to rescue
her from the situation in which we have found ourselves as a country today.”
In
response to a specific question as to whether the PDP was still holding talks
with its former stalwarts in the APC and how far the talks had progressed, he
said: “Talks are proceeding very well. The committee we set up is making
progress.
“We are
talking to everybody, not just members of the nPDP. We are talking to people in
the APC; we are talking to all genuine democrats who have seen through the
deceit the ruling party represents.
“This is not about parties; it has gone beyond
parties. We are talking about our dear nation which we all know can be better
with proper management of our resources.
We are
talking and very soon, the results will be glaring for all Nigerians to see.”
Ologbondiyan maintained that consultations had reached a very “advanced stage”
and that more Nigerians across party lines had come to appreciate the enormity
of the task at hand.
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