PDP CAN’T SURVIVE AMIDST TURBULENCE – ABBA MORO

MICHAEL JEGEDE

Nigeria, May 19, 2016 – Former Minister of Interior, Comrade Abba Moro, has said that the only chance of survival of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, after the loss of its grip on power at the centre in the 2015 general elections was for members to remain united and pursue a common goal.

Moro, a staunch member of PDP, stated this in Abuja on Thursday while reiterating his call for a truce in the ongoing crisis tearing the party apart.

The ex-Minister maintained that “the creation of factions will not augur well for the continued existence of the PDP. The only therapy needed to heal the injuries sustained from the terrible blow of defeat in last year’s election by the party to enable it bounce back to power in 2019 is absolute unity among members at all levels of the party.

“The emerging factions in the party are utterly needless. What we need now is to come together and share ideas on how to rebuild and reposition our party for effective performance in future elections. By now we ought to have learnt some very useful lessons from our past mistakes that brought us down in the 2015 polls. We need to know that there is no way we can survive amidst crisis and turbulence as a party aiming to return to power. Our road to victory in 2019 can only remain smooth if we choose to work together devoid of acrimony.”

Moro advised those proposing to organize a separate convention from the one approved by the National Executive Committee, NEC, the highest decision-making organ of the PDP, to have a rethink and embrace dialogue in the interest of the party.

“Attempting to divide the party on the excuse of opposition to the leadership of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff is overtly unpatriotic and uncalled-for. The PDP is certainly larger than anyone individual. And for some of the founding fathers of the PDP, it will be an unforgiveable mistake for them to tear down the house they toiled so hard to build. This is the time to build bridges of accommodation rather than fan the embers of the things that divide us,” he added.

While the NEC has since ratified Saturday, May 21, 2016 for the national convention in Port-Harcourt to elect new national officers for the party, some elders and stakeholders (mostly founding members) firmly opposed to the leadership of Ali Modu Sheriff as the national chairman are equally set to hold a parallel convention on the same day in Abuja.