By Muazu Abari ,
Yola
Adamawa state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has pleaded with former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, to return to the party “where he rightly belongs.”
Newly elected chairman of the party, Barrister A. T. Shehu, made the plea yesterday at the inaugural meeting of the executive of the party in Yola.
The party made the plea barely 48 hours after Atiku’s former Special Adviser on Strategy, Dr. Umar Ardo, accused him of hijacking the party structures in the state.
“We are calling on especially Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who is among the founding fathers of the party not to abandon the house he helped to build. We urge our major stakeholders to prevail on Atiku Abubakar and others to reconsider the decision of returning to the party.
“I am personally calling on Dr. Ardo and Hon. Bobboi to sheathe their swords and let them join their hands with us to take the party to a greater height. The exco at all levels are advised to be open-minded and accommodate both old and new members,” he said.
The new exco equally appealed to Dr. Ardo and his group that rejected Saturday’s state elective congress to sheathe their swords and cooperate with the new leadership noting that confrontation would do more harm than good to the party.
The party dissolved the Abdulrahman Bobboi-led factional leadership and other stakeholders’ group belonging to the Ali Modu Sheriff, urging them to sheathe their swords and join hands with the party to take it to greater heights.
Shehu attributed the failure of the party in the 2015 elections to acts of impunity where the PDP leaders and other faithful were behaving as if they were above the party, stressing that the “PDP is more determined now than ever before to restore power to the people based on the slogan of the party.”
The chairman also advised those wishing to run for any elective position under the platform of the party to go back to the grassroots and canvass for votes, noting that the era of god-fatherism in the party was over.
According to him, the new leadership of the party in the state and at all levels “shall not tolerate indiscipline therefore, any party member found to be undermining the good intention of the party would face the wrath of the party.”
He gave the assurance that all party members would have a level-playing field and directed all local government councils’ party chairmen to “immediately inaugurate the local government wards executive and set up reconciliation committees at local governments and wards levels for the purpose of genuine reconciliation.”
Ardo explains position
Meanwhile, a former Special Assistant to an ex-Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, on Local Government and State Affairs, Dr. Umar Ardo, has said that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would be better without welcoming his former principal back to run for president come 2019.
He also declared that former President Olusegun Obasanjo would work against the party if Atiku was fielded as the party’s presidential candidate.
Ardo, who was also appointed as Special Assistant on Research and Strategy to then President, Obasanjo, in 2003, said Atiku, a chieftain of the ruling APC, was preparing grounds for his return to the PDP.
However, Atiku’s Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, said it was “ludicrous to accuse a man who is not a member of a party of plotting to hijack its structure.”
“Whoever is making this allegation has to look elsewhere for their failings,” he said.
Addressing newsmen yesterday in Abuja, Ardo, an ex-governorship aspirant in Adamawa state, said the return of his former principal to secure the PDP presidential ticket would spark off fresh crisis and spell doom for the party.
In a petition dated November 5, 2017, and addressed to the Chairman, Adamawa state PDP state Congress Appeal Panel, Ardo called for cancellation of the congresses held last week in the state.
“We learnt that Atiku is coming back to the party with an ambition; an ambition to contest for the presidency. Now, his return will be a source of conflict because there are others in the party (PDP) who are also interested and are nursing this ambition.
“Secondly, the deep pocket that Atiku has will not just serve that ambition but it will deepen the conflict. The third disadvantage is that those foot soldiers will also serve for the ambition and in the process deepen the conflict.
“Along with the friends that Atiku will be coming with to the party is also those that will bring up enemies. For instance, it is an open secret and everybody knows it that Obasanjo will fight him. I think I will conclude that PDP will be better off without Atiku coming back,” he said.
The new exco equally appealed to Dr. Ardo and his group that rejected Saturday’s state elective congress to sheathe their swords and cooperate with the new leadership noting that confrontation would do more harm than good to the party.
The party dissolved the Abdulrahman Bobboi-led factional leadership and other stakeholders’ group belonging to the Ali Modu Sheriff, urging them to sheathe their swords and join hands with the party to take it to greater heights.
Shehu attributed the failure of the party in the 2015 elections to acts of impunity where the PDP leaders and other faithful were behaving as if they were above the party, stressing that the “PDP is more determined now than ever before to restore power to the people based on the slogan of the party.
” The chairman also advised those wishing to run for any elective position under the platform of the party to go back to the grassroots and canvass for votes, noting that the era of god-fatherism in the party was over. According to him, the new leadership of the party in the state and at all levels “shall not tolerate indiscipline therefore, any party member found to be undermining the good intention of the party would face the wrath of the party.”
He gave the assurance that all party members would have a levelplaying field and directed all local government councils’ party chairmen to “immediately inaugurate the local government wards executive and set up reconciliation committees at local governments and wards levels for the purpose of genuine reconciliation.”
Ardo explains position
Meanwhile, a former Special Assistant to an ex-Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, on Local Government and State Affairs, Dr. Umar Ardo, has said that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would be better without welcoming his former principal back to run for president come 2019.
He also declared that former President Olusegun Obasanjo would work against the party if Atiku was fielded as the party’s presidential candidate. Ardo, who was also appointed as Special Assistant on Research and Strategy to then President, Obasanjo, in 2003, said Atiku, a chieftain of the ruling APC, was preparing grounds for his return to the PDP.
However, Atiku’s Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, said it was “ludicrous to accuse a man who is not a member of a party of plotting to hijack its structure.” “Whoever is making this allegation has to look elsewhere for their failings,” he said. Addressing newsmen yesterday in Abuja, Ardo, an ex-governorship aspirant in Adamawa state, said the return of his former principal to secure the PDP presidential ticket would spark off fresh crisis and spell doom for the party.
In a petition dated November 5, 2017, and addressed to the Chairman, Adamawa state PDP state Congress Appeal Panel, Ardo called for cancellation of the congresses held last week in the state. “We learnt that Atiku is coming back to the party with an ambition; an ambition to contest for the presidency. Now, his return will be a source of conflict because there are others in the party (PDP) who are also interested and are nursing this ambition.
“Secondly, the deep pocket that Atiku has will not just serve that ambition but it will deepen the conflict. The third disadvantage is that those foot soldiers will also serve for the ambition and in the process deepen the conflict.
“Along with the friends that Atiku will be coming with to the party is also those that will bring up enemies. For instance, it is an open secret and everybody knows it that Obasanjo will fight him. I think I will conclude that PDP will be better off without Atiku coming back,” he said.
