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From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
There are indications that the peace initiative brokered by former president Goodluck Jonathan to resolve the lingering crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) may have collapsed.
Recently, the former president had announced that a 40-man committee would work out a political solution to the leadership crisis in the opposition party. The committee was expected to be constituted two weeks after the meeting.
However, nothing has been heard regarding the peace committee two weeks after the announcement.
Daily Sun gathered yesterday that plans to set up the committee may have hit a cul-de-sac, as a result of the stance of the party’s National Chairman, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff.
The former Borno State governor had walked out on Jonathan and other party leaders at the peace meeting in Abuja, because he was not recognised to speak as national chairman on the occassion.
Sheriff’s deputy, Dr. Cairo Ojoughoh told Daily Sun yesterday that the Sheriff-led National Working Committee NWC would not send any nominee to the proposed committee.
He said they were not part of the agreement to set up a 40-man committee to resolve the party crisis, and so would not have anything to do with it.
Ojoughoh noted that the stakeholders meeting ended the moment the National Chairman left.
“That committee was not discussed with us. The meeting starts when the chairman of the party arrives and ends when he leaves. Anything apart from that is null and void. People submit list to us. We are not to submit list to anybody. Our consultation continues. We are consulting with all the organs of the party,” he stated.
Daily Sun could not confirm if the PDP National Caretaker Committee led by Senator Ahmed Makarfi has sent a list of nominees for the committee to Jonathan, as its spokesman, Prince Dayo Adeyeye did not respond to calls to his mobile phone yesterday.
Daily Sun recalls that at the end of the PDP stakeholders meeting in Abuja a fortnight ago, Jonathan had announced that a 40-man committee would be set up to come up with a political solution to the leadership crisis.
The committe, to be chaired by either Jonathan, former vice president Namadi Sambo or the former Senate President, David Mark would comprise six nominees each from Sheriff and the National Caretaker Committee led by Makarfi. Two former governors, two former ministers, two women and two youths are to be appointed, in consultation with Sheriff and the caretaker committee.
Efforts to find out if Jonathan would go ahead to constitute the committee without Sheriff’s nominees was unsuccessful, as his Media Adviser, Ikechukwu Eze, who promised to get back to our correspondent did not answer subsequent calls to his mobile phone.
