PDP, APC in Battle of Wits Over G7 Govs’ Face-off

While the two PDP factions maintain their hard-line positions on their demands towards the resolution of the crisis, as part of their strategies to gain time to implement their alternative strategies in a bid to actualise their dreams, the APC, on its part, is waiting in the wings to reap from the PDP crisis.

THISDAY gathered that part of the plan of the mainstream PDP is to try as much as possible to maintain the status quo, by dragging on the peace talks between the two factions, in a bid to prevent the seven governors and other dissident members from joining forces with the opposition parties.

On their part, the seven aggrieved governors of the party, who are members of the New PDP, appeared to be acting out a script to weaken the PDP’s structure to reduce its chances of victory in the 2015 general election, while at the same time pretending to be working on reconciliatory efforts.

Peace talks between the two factions have remained deadlocked since it began some months ago. For the third time in a row, the factions had to adjourn further deliberations as they could not agree on the way forward.

At the last meeting on Monday, the two sides agreed to shift further discussions until after the Muslim and Christian pilgrimages to enable the full participation of members of the New PDP, represented by their governors, as some of them were said to be in Saudi Arabia for the hajj.

As part of their terms for peace, the New PDP is demanding, among others, the removal of Alhaji Bamanga Tukur as the PDP national chairman and that President Goodluck Jonathan should not run in the 2015 presidential election.
However, feelers from the presidency and the mainstream PDP showed that these two key demands of the party’s faction might not be met, despite the impression being given that they could strike a deal on it.

A top APC source told THISDAY Tuesday in Abuja that the seven aggrieved governors of the PDP, being the arrowheads in the secret negotiations between APC and the New PDP, were not in a hurry to reach a reconciliatory deal with the Tukur-led faction of the party.

According to the source, some of the aggrieved governors intentionally stayed away from the scheduled peace meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan under the pretext that they had gone to Saudi Arabia.

"The governors did not go anywhere; one of them from the North-east was sighted yesterday at the airport trying to board an aircraft to Kano. What they did on Monday was actually a boycott of the meeting with President Jonathan, but they apparently tried to be polite by giving excuses," he said.

Sokoto State Governor, Alhaji Aliyu Wamakko, who is one of the aggrieved governors said to be away on pilgrimage and could not attend Monday’s peace talks with the president and other party leaders in Abuja, returned to Sokoto that same day after a trip to Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.

The APC source said the leadership of the opposition party had decided to slow down its activities, to accommodate the PDP splinter group when they eventually defect to the opposition party.

For instance, the nationwide membership registration of the APC, which was earlier planned to take off latest first week of October, has been shelved just as the move to set up state mobilisation committees was also put on hold.

As at yesterday, activities at the headquarters of the APC, including the attendance of the skeletal staff, had virtually grounded to a halt with most of the party leaders either said to have travelled out of the country or shifted base to Anambra to assist the party's governorship candidate, Senator Chris Ngige, in his campaign towards next month’s election in the state.

Another source said APC had directed its governors to handle discussion with the seven aggrieved governors and their reports would determine how the opposition party would deal with them.
He however attributed the slow pace of activities in the APC to logistics challenge, which the party's leadership is trying to address.