Presidency, nPDP raise panel over grievances

representatives in the panel. One of our sources who attended the meeting said nPDP members would produce five members of the panel, while the presidency, and by extension the APC, would produce four including Vice President Osinbajo.

At the meeting attended by Senate President Bukola Saraki, Speaker Yakubu Dogara, Governors Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto) and Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara), Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, chairman of nPDP Kawu Baraje, the aggrieved party members presented the same grievances contained in their letter to the national chairman of APC, John Odigie-Oyegun weeks ago.

Those at the meeting included Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami; Deputy Chairman (North) of the APC Lawal Shuaibu; Deputy Chief of Staff to President, Ade Ipaye and the National Security Adviser (NSA) retired General Babagana Monguno.

On the part of the nPDP, there were Senators Danjuma Goje, Barnabas Gemade; a former Adamawa State governor, Murtala Nyako, among many others.

Another source at the meeting told our reporter last night thus: “We presented our grievances to them just the way we did in our letter to the party. In the end, it was resolved that a small committee be set up to look into the matter.

“On our part, we’ll produce five members, and we were given up to Thursday to do that. On their part (presidency and APC), they’ll bring three members and the VP for the committee to begin work,” one of the lawmakers at the meeting said.

Another lawmaker told Daily Trust that both Osinbajo and the APC leaders at the meeting accepted the fact that their grievances were “genuine,” hence their resolve to constitute a committee, comprising of members from both sides to x-ray the issues at hand.

“Discussions have just started, and we all agreed to sit down and look at all the issues raised. One thing is that they accepted that our complaints are genuine.

“The agreement was that the committee will look at the matter. The committee will examine the issues on a state-by-state basis,” the second source who also attended the meeting, said.

Although no time frame has been fixed for the panel to conclude its work, one of our sources said it will be “within the shortest possible time.”

Saraki, Dogara, and Kwankwaso were the major persons that spoke on the part of the nPDP with Baraje giving the preamble of their grievances, it was further learned.

The grievances

The nPDP members had in a letter dated April 27, which became public on May 9, said they were not fairly treated in the APC. They issued a 7-day ultimatum to see President Muhammadu Buhari for a resolution.

The aggrieved APC members, led by Baraje, visited the national secretariat of the party where they had discussions with Odigie-Oyegun over alleged marginalization.

They said they needed to be heard so as to boost the party’s chances during the 2019 general elections.

Baraje and Olagunsoye Oyinlola both of whom signed the letter said the efforts and sacrifice by nPDP members were never publicly acknowledged by President Buhari.

They listed the major nPDP members to include five sitting governors at the time, namely Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto), Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano), Abdul-Fatah Ahmed (Kwara), Murtala Nyako (Adamawa), Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers) states; former governors Adamu Aliero (Kebbi), Danjuma Goje (Gombe) and Olagunsoye Oyinlola (Osun); former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; a sitting Speaker of the House of Reps Aminu Tambuwal, many serving members of the National Assembly and PDP elders.

The letter titled ‘Request for Redressing of Grievances of the Former New PDP Block within the APC’ said they were desirous of strengthening the APC, especially now that party congresses had commenced ahead of the national convention and another round of general elections.

“These efforts, contributions, and sacrifice were made in spite of the fact that the presidential ticket was taken by the erstwhile Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) block of the party. It is a matter for grave concern that His Excellency, Mr President, Muhammadu Buhari GCFR, has never publicly acknowledged our efforts in the face of clear evidence that the total number of votes scored by the APC in states where leaders and members of the then new PDP block held sway made the difference.

“In the constitution of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), the nPDP block was generally side-lined as virtually no position was conceded to it. The only member of FEC that belonged to former New PDP block comes from a state (Rivers) that contributed virtually no vote to the APC in the 2015 presidential elections.

“There has been no significant patronage and appointments to positions in various government agencies such as chief executives and executive directors of government agencies and parastatals as members of our block of the party continue to helplessly watch as these positions are shared by the erstwhile CPC, ACN, ANPP, and even APGA blocks of the party and those who have no party at all,” they said.

Following the letter, the APC national leadership met with the aggrieved nPDP members last week and later resolved that a similar meeting would be held with Vice President Osinbajo on the matter.