Aftermath of Makarfi victory: Prepare to leave Aso Rock, PDP Reps tell Buhari

Nigerians don’t have short memory – APC

By Joshua Egbodo and Bode Olagoke, Abuja

Th e Peoples Democratic Party Caucus in the House of Representatives has asked the governing All Progressives Congress (APC), to prepare to leave the Aso Rock Presidential Villa in 2019. Vowing that the opposition PDP will fi ll the ‘imminent’ vacancy in 2019, the caucus said Nigerians having tasted the APC government for two years, can now make informed assessment of the achievements of both parties. Th e seeming protracted crisis within the major opposition party came to a halt on Wednesday with the Supreme Court sacking Ali Modu Sheriff and declaring Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi as the rightful leader of the party.

Th e resolution of the legal logjam, analysts believe, will give the party an edge to put its house in order ahead the 2019 general election. Speaking in this regard yesterday at a media parley, the PDP House Caucus declared that the days of the governing APC were over in the Villa. Spokesman of the group and Minority Leader of the House, Hon. Leo Ogor, said the PDP has learnt a lot of lessons from the crisis that nearly took the party out of existence, calling on party members, especially those who defected during the challenging times, to come together to build a stronger party. “Th ere is vacancy in Aso Rock in 2019.

It is an earlier quit notice that they should start packing their loads because we are moving in after our re-organisation”, Ogor said, adding that lack of internal democracy was one of the factors that nearly destroyed the party. “We have learnt our lessons no matter how you look at them. We consider this victory for democracy. It has gone a very long way to strengthen the democratic principles and ethos, and it is one great opportunity for us to congratulate all PDPnarians who stood fi rm in the midst of these crises. Th is shows once more that the party must be more democratic in all its internal aff airs. “One major lesson we have learnt in this exercise is that we must do everything possible to strengthen our internal democracy. We will also work hand in hand to make sure that this party stands and this party belongs to the people.

“Th e PDP which is the largest party in Africa shall aspire for a more perfect union of the Nigerian people. You all have seen clearly the challenges that have befallen us as a people and we must work to avert the confusion and crises of the past two years of the APC government,” Ogor stated. Th e lawmakers further stressed that what happened has strengthened the PDP, and a quit notice to the ruling APC. “I believe that what has happened from all indications has strengthened the PDP people, and I consider this a quit notice. Not just a quit notice, not just an ordinary quit notice, but also to tell the APC government that they should be prepared to do what they were elected to do,” they submitted.

But the APC National Publicity scribe, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi ,has noted that his party is not challenged by the victory, and asked the PDP to be mindful of its past, which according to him, would defi nitely hunt them. According to Abdullahi, Nigerians do not have a short memory to have forgotten so soon their experience under the PDP government. “Let me reiterate again that the outcome of the court ruling is of no signifi cance to us as a party. Yes, we expect a virile democracy and opposition if you like, from the party, having resolved its crisis.

“Of course, they have a right to aspire as allowed in every democracy. However, they must not fail to realise that Nigerians have a memory of their party. We still have the memory of what people did in the last three years. So, we still remember, because if you want to aspire to any elective offi ce at whatever level, you must do so with untainted credentials,” Abdullahi further added.

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