PDP crisis: Saraki, Dickson, Dankwambo storm Enugu, meet with Mbah
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Special Reconciliation Committee, headed by former Senate President Bukola Saraki, on Friday met with Enugu State Governor and Southeast party leader, Dr. Peter Mbah, as part of efforts to resolve internal crises threatening the party’s unity in the region.
The closed-door meeting, held at the Enugu Government House, had in attendance key committee members including former Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Seriake Dickson, and former Gombe State Governor, Dr. Ibrahim Dankwambo.
The visit comes amid growing tensions within the PDP in the Southeast, following a recent communiqué from the Zonal Executive Council (ZEC), which re-nominated former National Youth Leader, Hon. Sunday Udeh-Okoye, to complete the tenure of the National Secretary.
The leaders warned that failure to honor their decision could force them to reconsider their continued loyalty to the party.
Addressing journalists after the meeting, Saraki said the committee’s mandate was to ensure a peaceful and united front ahead of the party’s forthcoming National Executive Council meeting and potential convention.
“We are here as members of the PDP Reconciliation and Strategy Committee, set up by the PDP Governors’ Forum, to ensure that the coming NEC and convention are smooth and free of rancor,” Saraki stated.
“In line with that, we are here in Enugu State to consult with one of our leaders, Governor Peter Mbah, who is the leader of Southeast PDP.
“This is the first state we are coming to because we appreciate the importance of the Southeast in our PDP family. As you all know, the Southeast has played a key role as the bedrock of the popularity and the strength of our party.
“In recognition of that, we are here to consult with him and first to commend him on the leadership role he has been playing in the party. More importantly also, to commend what he is doing in Enugu State, which is a reflection for Nigerians to see what happens when you have a PDP government.
“In doing that, we discussed how we will ensure that we carry out the assignment given to us and go ahead to have our NEC and our convention. We will have one that is rancor-free and smooth, peaceful and lays the foundation for the PDP that we all are wishing for.
“We have had a very good discussion. Frankly, we have had a very, very useful discussion. We are going away with some of the suggestions that we have here and hopefully work on that.
“With this, we can say here in Enugu we laid the foundation for a greater new PDP that is coming.
“What we have also seen today is that there is nothing insurmountable in the challenge ahead and the spirit, the commitment of all of us, especially our leaders, is very very inspiring,” he stated.
