IT was a grim verdict yesterday on the fate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) by one of its governors.

The ruling party is dead, waiting to be buried, declared Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido.

Lamido, one of the founding fathers of the PDP in 1998, was one of the Group of Seven (G7) aggrieved governors who challenged

Bamanga Tukur and joined the Kawu Baraje-led New PDP.

Five of the governors – Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers),

Murtala

Kwankwaso

Ahmed (Kwara) – have defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Lamido

Babangida Aliyu stayed back in the PDP.

Lamido said he would not leave PDP because doing so is like leaving a house he built.

But

latest development in the troubled party especially the defection on Wednesday of

members to the APC and declared the PDP dead.

“We

construction of what appears to be the final collapse of our dear party, the PDP, under the inept and slowpoke National Working

Bamanga Tukur,” he said, adding: “I am short of words to express my pain. It is agonising to see the party built in every home, in every village, town and cities all over Nigeria with lots of sacrifice being destroyed.”

Urging

action, Lamido said: “Is it too late for the ‘leader’ of the party to intervene and save our party?”

He,

democracy must not be truncated”.

But Tukur insisted yesterday that he would not step down as demanded by the governors elected on the platform of the party because the process being adopted is illegal.

Tukur, who spoke at a breakfast session with reporters in Abuja, said those after his sack were trying to ambush the process.

He said: “I was lawfully elected into the position by the party; so why should I be removed

That is why I challenge them to allow the rules prevail.

“Yes, I have also heard that the party’s National

meeting has not held for a long time, but I will also remind the public and the party that even at the state levels, there are executive councils and they have not also held meetings in the past years, even in the states of those that hold against me the NEC meeting issue.

“The NEC does not exist on its own; it derives from the states and the states should be in order before we put the national

order.”

Tukur said the party, after the defection in the National Assembly, would begin another round of reconciliation.

He added: “There is never a time any party would rule out the importance of reconciliation, and that is what I have been doing and many of the people you hear kick against the leadership of the party

meetings with me.

“But when one is bent on something, I have

engineer this problem don’t relent in inciting others against the party.

“But I promise you and I am sure the final

bring an end to the problems and most, if not all, the members that left would be back.

“What the public doesn’t also know is that new members and blocs have not ceased to join the PDP.

“However,

members that I am not the problem of the party and they should feel free to tell me what I have done wrong and, as a family, we would sit down and find a way out of it.”

He went on: “In a situation where people have a mindset on an issue, it is difficult to reconcile with such persons and that is what is playing out. I cannot tell you I am not disturbed by the development in the party. It hasn’t been a healthy one because much as we believe that the party still enjoys good standing among the electorate, we know the strength of a party

commands.

“I have viewed the issues in the party and I know for sure that it is not getting better but I can assure you that I can take any lawful condition the aggrieved members come up with to make sure peace reigns in the party. I have heard it many times from outside and the media that I am the problem of the party, but I challenge you to have audience with the aggrieved members of the party and ask them if I have not had private audiences with them.

“Whenever they are with me, I ask them from a sincere mind what exactly I have done to be the problem of the party, and I can swear to you that none of them ever

constitute is.”

In Tukur’s view, the problem may be that he disagrees

governors

electorate. “Some governors do not like that. My agenda is to reform the party and

candidates and imposing them on the people,” he said.

Explaining

misunderstood by the public, Tukur said his

started

governor and state party chairman must not

accordance with the stipulations of the party’s constitution.

“Why should a sitting governor decide who should succeed him at the end of his

consultation

votes must count at the elections?

“It was the effort to change the negative status quo ante that created the protest, which led to the existing crisis,” Tukur said.

so this man is still kicking. ...nawa o...Fp things

OBJ will never be allowed join APC.
Tinubu hates OBJ.

PDP will be stuck with an angry Obasanjo until 2015.

Good luck to Goodluck.

Nigerian politics doesn't have political parties, we just have north, west and south. What we can see is what I call ethnic sorting... Politicians are realising the fact that they are misplaced when they ally with other groups. This is Why the two members of the g7 opted to stay back with pdp, and This is Why political parties readily accept decampees, because they have no ideals.. I forsee a re-emergence of cpc or transformation of pdp to a core northern party, the battle will be north vs south

rexbuton: Nigerian politics doesn't have political parties, we just have north, west and south. What we can see is what I call ethnic sorting... Politicians are realising the fact that they are misplaced when they ally with other groups. This is Why the two members of the g7 opted to stay back with pdp, and This is Why political parties readily accept decampees, because they have no ideals.. I forsee a re-emergence of cpc or transformation of pdp to a core northern party, the battle will be north vs south

You are almost right

rexbuton: Nigerian politics doesn't have political parties, we just have north, west and south. What we can see is what I call ethnic sorting... Politicians are realising the fact that they are misplaced when they ally with other groups. This is Why the two members of the g7 opted to stay back with pdp, and This is Why political parties readily accept decampees, because they have no ideals.. I forsee a re-emergence of cpc or transformation of pdp to a core northern party, the battle will be north vs south

False!

We USED to not have political parties.

That changed with the registration of APC.

We are no longer a one party democracy. People have a choice. That does not mean that some parties won't have core constituencies. In the US, for example, the Democrats have Latinos and Blacks as core constituencies. However, the competition between the parties ensures that policy ideas are more important than race in elections. Your analysis is outdated.

We are in a new era.

PS- As far as I can tell, PDP is becoming a core SS/SE party, while APC is becoming a North and SW Party. So the old North/South divide is OVER.