Members of the new Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP) are set to severe relationship with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) any moment from now except last minutes efforts being made yield positive result.
The Nigerian Tribune authoritatively gathered that national leaders of the APC and members of the nPDP are expected to meet today (Monday) in a last minute effort to contain agitation from the nPDP members.
Speaking with journalists in Ilorin on Sunday, former acting chairman of nPDP, Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje, said the meeting is slated for 2.00 pm.
Baraje who lamented high rate of internal conflicts within the ruling APC said that the situation culminated in parallel state congresses in about ’21 states’.
He said that contrary to insinuations in some quarters, the nPDP’s recent letter to the leadership of the APC was to forestall such occurrences.
Baraje, who said that the PDP never had such internal wrangling as now evident in the APC, warned that if the APC fails to heed the request of the nPDP, then its forthcoming national convention might become an avenue to wash dirty linens in public.
He expressed concern over the path being taken by APC leaders, regretted that what members of the nPDP are witnessing in the APC is worse than what they experienced in the PDP.
He said the nPDP is made up of men and women who cannot be pushed aside, referring to the resignation of the group’s secretary and former governor of Osun state, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, as signal to what may happen if members were not able to convince their followers about the need to remain in the APC.
Baraje, however, said that the nPDP members would not immediately pull out of the APC if the party fails to meet their demands, saying 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.
“The last time we met here (Baraje’s house) in 2016 I told you that the way the party was going on we were on the road to perdition.
“If you look at the letter we wrote, we never said we gave an ultimatum but we advised them; we hinted the party because of the ongoing primaries of the party. Now the party has invited us, exactly on the seventh day of the letter and they wanted us to meet that same day but because we were speaking for several leaders across the country we told them we couldn’t meet that same day so now they have scheduled a meeting for tomorrow (Monday) anytime from 2 pm”
He dismissed the opposition of the group led by Senator Abdullahi Adamu to the petition by the nPDP, saying the nPDP is such a large group.
“We have travelled a long way with the APC and now we are seeing things worse in APC than in PDP. If we the leaders are worth the name, we should be bold enough to speak about it”, he said.
