Some stakeholders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), have berated former Vice President and presidential candidate of the party in the 2019 general election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar for keeping mum while his party was going through crisis.
The party has been in crisis following the resignation of some national officers and call by some stakeholders for the national chairman to resign over what they described as poor leadership.
Leaders of the party, including serving Governors, Senators, House of Representatives members, Board of Trustees members, former Ministers and National Executive Committee members among others, however, after series of meetings, resolved yesterday that the party’s National Convention should hold in October, this year as against December.
The stakeholders, who spoke on the condition of anonymity yesterday, wondered why Atiku, who is believed to be interested in the 2023 presidency, was nowhere to be found when other leaders of the party were working hard to proffer solutions to the crisis rocking the party.
One of the stakeholders, who is a top chieftain of the party from the North, said, “Is this how he (Atiku) wants to be supported to become the candidate of our party in 2023? When we needed him to help find solutions to the crisis in the party, he was not there for us”.
In their determined efforts to avoid an unpalatable situation in the party, the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the party, had called for a truce so that the issue(s) could be addressed amicably.
Stakeholders of the party made up of BoT, the PDP Governors’ Forum, the National Assembly Caucus and other members have, however, waded into the issue, which ended in a win-win situation on Wednesday.
Some of the stakeholders noted with regrets that, “In all of these, Atiku, who is one of the strongest leaders of PDP, failed to identify with the party at the time he was needed most.
“The only time his voice was heard was when he was accused of been the brain behind the travail of Secondus”, he said.
The former Vice President, had on Wednesday last week, denied insinuation that his visit to Port Harcourt recently necessitated the move to sack Secondus.
Atiku said, in his reaction then, that it was ridiculous to say he’s the one behind the move to sack Secondus when he’s promoting peace and stability in the party.
In a telephone chat with newsmen, the Media Adviser to Atiku, Paul Ibe had said, “It is a beer parlour talk, it is also mischief. Why will a former Vice President be behind the plot to sack PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus? What will be is interest?
He added, “Someone who has commenced the process of having conversations with stakeholders of the party on reconciliation. A man who has encouraged processes aimed at ensuring peace and stability in the party.
“Aside from his trip to Port Harcourt, he also held similar one in Delta. And he has more in the offing. Why will he promote peace and stability in the party and be behind moves to sack Secondus? It’s ridiculous for anyone to talk about this.
“Atiku understands the Constitution of the PDP and what the party stated about tenure for party leadership. So he cannot be working against something that he understands and promotes.
“That is not how democrats behave. Those are anti-democratic behaviour and that is not who he is.
“Whoever is saying this, should know that this is a beer parlour talk and unnecessary mischief”, Ibe said.
Asked on his effort to resolve the crisis rocking the party, Ibe said, “the crisis is related, we can not isolate one from the other. He (Atiku) recognizes that there are issues, like in every party administration.
“When you have more than two persons, people will have different positions, so the important thing is how to resolve them. And he has commenced the movement to resolve the issues.
“Atiku is an individual, yes a major stakeholder in the party, and he has taken steps to bring everybody together to see how these issues can be peacefully resolved.
“They are all related, either the one that happens now or before. They are all part of the larger problem facing the party”, the Media Adviser to Atiku maintained.
However, despite this denial, Atiku, the stakeholders maintained, has not played any role to address the crisis that almost consumed the party and by extension, the party National Working Committee (NWC) led by Secondus.
