Nigerians waiting for us as alternative — Makarfi

The National Caretaker Committee Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ahmed Makarfi, said yesterday that recent happenings in the party have stabilised the polity in Nigeria.

Makarfi, a former governor of Kaduna State, also said the party’s non-elective convention slated for August 12, 2017, would define the programmes of the party.

Addressing PDP Women’s Forum which paid him a visit at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, Makarfi said apart from reconciling with aggrieved members, the PDP would attract new membership.

“We know there is hunger; we know that there are difficulties, all kinds of problems in the country. But as soon as this judgement came, it seemed to have brought down tempers.

“Why tempers have gone down is that people have seen the alternative they have been waiting for. We will work together as always to make sure we don’t let the people down.

“We have a lot of work ahead of us, to reconcile. When I talk of reconciliation, we are talking of reconciliation in general terms, not over recent events. We need to go back to 2015 and even before then and reconcile with as many of our party men and women that either left the party or have developed cold feet.

“So it’s a question of balancing of interests without forgetting the input, the contributions of men and women across the length and breadth of this country to take this party to where we are at the moment, in spite of all the difficulties,” he said.