Atiku begs founding fathers to save PDP from collapse

According to Punch, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called on the founding fathers of the Peoples Democratic Party to come together to save the party from crises capable of leading to avoidable implosion. In a statement by his Media Office in Abuja on Monday, Atiku said he was particularly disturbed by the worsening polarisation of the party and internal divisions which might weaken the party structures at the state and deepen the crisis between the governors and the President.

The former Vice President explained that as one of the founding fathers of the party, he had a duty to call on other founding members to rise to the occasion and caution the “forces that are bent on tearing the party apart and providing the ammunition for self destruction.” He lamented the failure of the National Executive Council to meet in line with the provisions of the party’s constitution and the inability of the “Board of Trustees to rise to the occasion of arresting this ugly development.”

According to him, the bitter internal divisions within the PDP, has led to crisis in the party leadership in some states, division in the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and   the suspension of a sitting Governor over disagreements on principle that could have been avoided if the founders of the party had added their voices of caution and moderation.

With the challenges of providing good governance and the bid for re-election in 2015, Atiku noted that the PDP could not afford the current acrimony as it was undermining democratic structures at all levels.

Meanwhile, following controversies trailing the NGF chairmanship election, Majority Leader in the Edo State House of Assembly, Phillip Shaibu, has urged the Presidency to focus on tackling the myriads of problem threatening the nation’s  developmental, instead of meddle in who heads the forum.

Despite the presidency distancing itself from the crisis rocking the NGF, Shaibu in an interaction view with journalists, in Benin on Monday, urged Jonah Jang of Plateau State, to “be magnanimous in defeat” and accept the outcome of the election.

“Nigerian has grown beyond do or die politics,” he said.

Describing the fallout of the NGF election as distraction, the lawmaker said, “What should bother the powers that be is how to address the challenges in the power sector and job creation through industrialisation.”