Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday, berated former Jigawa State governor, Sule Lamido, over his comments accusing the party’s leadership of failure to effectively mediate in the Rivers State political crisis.
The PDP, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, said Lamido’s comment was aimed at causing bad blood in the opposition party.
The former Jigawa governor had reportedly said that “the PDP has all leadership structure including National Working Committee (NWC), but one shall wonder how come their total absence in the saga playing out in the party’s family in Rivers? Is the docility of the leadership of the PDP so comatose to the extent that President Tinubu of APC, our sworn rival and opponent is now the grand patriarch of the PDP?
“It is inconceivable that a political party will simply sit back and allow its fortunes to be taken over by a rapacious scavenger, the APC. What President Tinubu did in the so-called peace meeting is not brokering peace in Rivers State but using his office to enhance the fortunes of his political party. “
Nevertheless, the PDP, while cautioning leaders of the party against unguarded comments, assured members that it’s National Working Committee (NWC) was committed to the progress of the party. It noted that the party’s intervention in the rivers crisis was yielding results.
The opposition party said ‘the NWC however expresses serious displeasure over incautious conduct, activities and unguarded utterances by certain leaders who are out to disparage critical Organs of the Party, inflame passions, cause division among members and bring our dear Party to public disrepute for their selfish reasons.
“Of particular reference is the deleterious public statement credited to the former Governor of Jigawa State, His Excellency Sule Lamido, which was made apparently with the intent to inject bad blood and drag down our Party for self-seeking motives.”
The PDP added that ‘the NWC has received very disturbing reports that such unscrupulous individuals are recruited by the One-Party-State seeking APC administration to undermine the cohesion that exists within the PDP which will enable it to effectively perform its opposition role for the sustenance of Democracy and the wellbeing of Nigerians.
“It is rather unfortunate that such inexcusable conducts, comments, utterances and betrayals are coming from individuals who have benefitted immensely from the PDP but who have the record and notoriety of brazenly betraying the Party in various elections and at slightest opportunity for their selfish interests.
‘It is instructive to state that some of the challenges that plagued our Party in the recent past and those confronting it at the moment are traceable to the comments, utterances and actions of these unpatriotic individuals which are inconsistent with the opportunity that the Party gave them in the past.”