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Layi Olanrewaju, Ilorin
In continuation of the dialogue over the grievances of members of the new Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP) bloc of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), another meeting between the group and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will hold Monday.
Attendees at the meeting are expected to meet President Muhammadu Buhari later in the day after their meeting with the Vice President to intimate him about the outcome of their meeting.
The nPDP group led by a former Acting chairman of PDP, Alh Abubakar Baraje had last week met with the national executives of the party to discuss, and possibly resolve, their differences.
Baraje confirmed the planned meetings with the Vice President and the President Buhari to newsmen in Ilorin, Kwara state on Sunday.
The APC chieftain commended members of his group and concerned Nigerians who share their views and concerns about the plight of the nPDP members in APC.
Baraje expressed optimism that at the end of the meeting with the Osinbajo and Buhari, the ruling party would come out stronger and more united in the general interest of citizens.
He said the next line of action of his group will be determined by the outcome of the planned meeting.
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It would be recalled that last week national leaders of the APC and members of the nPDP announced their meeting Monday in a last minute effort to contain agitation from the faction.
Baraje who decried the high rate of internal conflicts within the ruling APC, which has culminated in parallel state congresses in about ’10 states’, said that, contrary to insinuations in some quarters, the nPDP’s recent letter to the leadership of the APC was to forestall such occurrences.
While pointing out that the PDP never had such internal wrangling as is evident in the APC, Baraje warned that if the APC fails to heed the request of the nPDP, then it’s forthcoming national convention might become an avenue to wash its dirty linens openly.
He expressed concern over the path being trodden by leaders of the APC, lamenting that what members of the nPDP are witnessing in the APC is worse than what they experienced in the PDP.
The nPDP, he said, is made up of men and women who cannot be pushed aside, and referred to the resignation of the group’s secretary and former governor of Osun state, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, as a signal to what might happen if members are not able to convince their followers about the need to remain in the APC.
He said nPDP members would not immediately pull out of the APC if the party fails to meet their demands, saying that, like they did in the last administration, they would still go ahead and meet with several leaders across the country to stop what he termed as impunity within the party.
“We have travelled a long way with the APC and now we are seeing things worse in APC than in PDP. If we are leaders worth the name we should be bold enough to speak about it,” he said.
Baraje said the main agenda of the group’s discussion with the Vice President concerns the petition they wrote to the party leadership, saying “It is the outcome of our meeting with the president that will form our next line of action.”
