Briefing journalists in the presidential villa, Alhaji Tanko said he has carefully studied the unfolding events in his party and the consequences on the polity.He said the crisis will not augur well for the unity of the country and urged all PDP faithful to ensure that the crisis is resolved peacefully.
The beginning of what has spiraled into a major crack in the ruling PDP, started when five PDP governors stormed out of the PDP special convention, hence the birth of the ‘New PDP’.
Five of the governors – Abdufatah Ahmed of Kwara, Muazu Aliyu of Niger, Musa Kwankwaso of Kano, Sule Lamido of Jigawa and Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto States –walked out of party’s convention in Abuja, with a claim that a lot is not done right with the Tukur leadership.
Governors Murtala Nyako of Adamawa and Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers States, who were barred from attending the convention, also joined the other governors to form the factional PDP.
Former Vice President, Abubakar Atiku, Senator Bukola Saraki and former national secretary of the PDP also joined the newly formed PDP.
A news conference was held the same day, where the group announced that it had taken over the party’s structure, putting former acting national chairman of the party, Alhaji Abubakar Baraje as the new national chairman, while the position of the national secretary of the new PDP faction was given Prince Oyinlola to man.
The group said they took the decision to salvage the PDP from those who have hijacked it. The five governors claimed that they had visited some key leaders of the party to express their displeasure over the manner the party was being run but that nothing was done about it.
