Seven aggrieved governors and those in their camp in the Peoples Democratic Party have told the Bamanga Tukur-led National Working Committee of the party that it does not have the power to chase them out of the party.
They said there was no way Tukur would be allowed to determine their fate in the party, adding that they would leave the party only if they found it irredeemable.
The aggrieved governors, who jointly formed New Peoples Democratic Party, are Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto), Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), Aliyu Babangida (Niger), Abdulfatai Ahmed (Kwara) Murtala Nyako (Adamawa) and Rabiu Kwankwanso (Kano).
The splinter group has a former National Chairman of the party, Kawu Baraje, as chairman, a former National Secretary, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, as secretary; former deputy national chairman, Dr. Sam Jaja, as deputy national chairman.
Speaking in a telephone interview with our correspondent in Abuja on Friday, the National Publicity Secretary of the faction of the party, Mr. Chukwuemeka Eze, said it was wrong for the party to say the governors and those aggrieved were free to leave the party.
The National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Mr. Olisa Metuh, had told SUNDAY PUNCH on Friday that the party would not compel any of its members to remain within its fold.
Metuh’s outburst was also a reaction to a threat by some of the governors to defect to the opposition All Progressives Congress if the crisis within the party persisted.
Nyako had on Wednesday hinted that he and his six other aggrieved colleagues might defect to the rival APC unless the Tukur-led executive of the party changed its ways.
Eze, however, said those planning to push the governors out of the party would not succeed, adding that instead of that, they (the aggrieved governors) would push Tukur and others out of the party.
He said, “Nobody, no human being, not even Tukur has the capacity to push any of our governors out of the building we jointly built. Anyone planning that would fail woefully.
“For someone to say we could leave the party if we so desire is unacceptable to us. We helped to build this party and we should not allow anyone who did not know how the party was built to come around and be talking about dismantling a house we built?
“Let them know that they cannot force us out of the party. We will only leave the party when it is absolutely clear that the party is irredeemable and beyond repair. But we still have it at the back of our minds that the party and those there now are not beyond repair.”
Meanwhile, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and the governors of Adamawa and Niger States, Murtala Nyako and Babangida Aliyu respectively, met in Yola, Adamawa State capital on Saturday.
Sources at the meeting said the duo, who are members of the court-annulled New Peoples Democratic Party, discussed the outcome of the Friday’s Federal High Court pronouncement, which asked members of the faction of the ruling party to stop using the name of the party.
When contacted, the spokesperson for the group, Chukwuemeka Eze, said it was true that the leaders of the group were already considering holding a meeting next week.
“Yes, it is true that we are planning to meet sometimes next week, but I cannot tell you the date and time now. Don’t forget that our national secretary is not in the country. But we are meeting very soon,” Eze said.
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