Northern PDP Elders Suggest Expanded Peace Committee

Borno chapter disowns Sheriff Northern leaders’ support for political solution to party crisis excites Dickson

As stakeholders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) continue the search for a way out of the crisis rocking its leadership, an interest group within the party, the Northern PDP Elders’ Forum, has recommended the formation of a broad-based reconciliation committee to help see to the final resolution of the dispute.

The intervention by the party’s elders came just as a delegation of PDP stakeholders from Borno State who visited the Chairman of the National Caretaker Committee, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, swore never to have anything to do with the embattled National Chairman, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff.

An alliance meeting held between PDP and other 15 opposition political parties on Wednesday night ended without a major decision on how to actualise their vision.

THISDAY gathered that most of the parties present at the meeting did not yet want to make any commitment until the terms of engagement are spelt out.

It was learnt that some of the parties even withdrew from the meeting, attributing their action to the presence of the media at the venue of the discussion, thereby forcing the alliance talks to be shifted to the second week in May.

The PDP Northern Elders’ Forum said the proposed peace committee which would be allinclusive is expected to include all recognised organs and forum in the party.

In a communique issued at the end of its meeting on Wednesday, the forum said it was in support of efforts of the National Caretaker Committee to ensure the unity, integrity and full cooperate existence?,

The communique read: “That we totally support the legal action taken to appeal to the Supreme Court on the recent judgment of the Court of Appeal.

“In view of the need for an all-inclusive solution to the current leadership crisis of the PDP, which has literally left the party in a state of emergency, the leaders agreed that the situation requires the application of the “doctrine of necessity.” This means a genuine reconciliation process must be initiated, with appropriate representations from each of the recognised organs and forum in the party.”

Those that are to be on the peace panel include: Forum of Founders/Elders, Board of Trustees, Current Governors Forum, National Assembly Caucus and Former Governors’ Forum

Others are Former Ministers’ Forum, Former National Assembly Members

Current State Chairman Forum, Zonal Committees Former Deputy Governors Forum, Former State Speakers/State Assembly Members, Women’s Wing, Youth Wing, Former National Officers Forum and Former Ambassadors/ Board Chairmen.

The forum said in order to actualise the peace plan, a meeting, with representations of a minimum of six and maximum of 12 from each of the above -listed organs/for a, should immediately be convened, and to be presided by a distinguished elder statesman from the PDP.

Subsequently, they said legal experts should be engaged from each side to facilitate the execution of the decision.

They said that any decision taken at such meeting should be final and binding on all members of the party. Meanwhile, the Borno State Cont’donPg53