PDP crisis: Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim canvasses for caretaker committee

From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja

A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former presidential aspirant, Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has called for the constitution of a caretaker committee to manage the affairs of the opposition party, in order to give room for the resolution of all the issues in the party.

Hashim, in an interview with journalists on Thursday in Abuja, said it is not in the interest of the PDP to go ahead with the 15 and 16 November national convention.

The crisis rocking the PDP escalated recently over disagreement among party stalwarts on whether the national convention, scheduled for Ibadan this weekend to elect new National Working Committee (NWC) members, should hold or not.

While the factions in the outgoing NWC are holding tightly to their different positions on the convention, there have also been conflicting judgments on the issue.

However, Hashim, while noting that the opposition party would not lose anything by putting a caretaker committee in place for some months, said he has been talking with leaders of the party across board over the issue.

He said, “There will not be any convention this weekend, because there is a need to reconcile the parties. I have been speaking to some of the parties, that we don’t need factions. If you have that kind of convention, it will lead to factionalisation of the party.

“So, steps have been taken to ensure that we can have one unity convention. And probably you will have a caretaker committee. People are discussing this proposition, and we have been on it for some few days.

“The PDP has to be one. We must have one PDP. So, there will be those that are calling for a caretaker committee. This is my original idea. I am not with anybody (faction). It was my idea (caretaker) that I proposed to many people.”

Hashim, while reacting to questions on the insistence of the PDP governors to go ahead with the national convention, added that “the governors are not hell-bent on holding convention. I have spoken with some of the governors. So, maybe some governors are hell-bent.

“I have spoken with some of the governors. Some of the governors are reasonable enough to know that that will lead to factionalisation of the party. Maybe there are some of them who are hell-bent, but not all of them are hell-bent. And anybody who is hell-bent can go and hold this convention. I wish them the best of luck.”