President Goodluck Jonathan on Saturday
appealed to all the Peoples Democratic Party
aspirants who are aggrieved as a result of the
outcome of its primaries across the country not to
leave the party.
He said the party leadership was working hard to
resolve the conflicts thrown up by the primaries in
many states.
Jonathan spoke at the PDP Fund Raising Dinner,
held at the old Banquet Hall of the Presidential
Villa, Abuja.
Many state chapters of the party are currently
enmeshed in controversy over alleged cases of
imposition of candidates, either by state governors
or the national headquarters of the PDP.
The situation has led to many party stalwarts
leaving the party or threatening to leave.
Among those who have left to join the opposition
All Progressives Congress were Jonathan’s former
Minister of State, Industry, Trade and Investment,
Samuel Ortom, after he failed to clinch the party’s
governorship ticket in Benue State.
Jonathan, however, said it was better for aggrieved
party members to remain in the system to correct
whatever they felt was wrong in the party than
jumping ship.
Although he said conscious efforts were being
made to resolve the post-primaries crisis in some
states, the President admitted that all the cases
might not be resolved to the satisfaction of all the
parties concerned.
He, however, said the party would be guided by
the issues raised when preparing for the primaries
of the 2019 elections.
He said, “We all appreciate that throughout the
congresses where primaries were conducted, there
have been some outstanding issues. The party is
working to resolve these issues. Definitely, in such
a situation, all may not be resolved to the
satisfaction of everybody.
“But my plea to party members is to remain
committed to the party; stay with the party.
“I know other parties are wooing some of you to
contest elections on their platforms, but if you
believe in democracy then you will contribute to
strengthening it.
“The only way you can strengthen democracy is
for you to stay in your party.
“If there are some issues you feel are not too
correct, it behoves on us to stay together and
correct them. That is the only way we can grow
democracy.
“If out of anger or frustration, you leave the party
because you didn’t get what you wanted, then you
are not contributing to the growth of democracy.”
The President said the major task before the ruling
party was to ensure that the country remain
united.
While thanking those who donated the over N21bn
realised at the dinner, he said the money was
needed to build a formidable party.
He observed that if parties were tied around
individuals, there would be dictatorial tendencies in
such parties.
He promised that the money realised would be
judiciously utilised, like his administration had
done with the different funds raised earlier.
Describing his administration as business-friendly,
he promised donors of more policies that would
promote enterprise and industry.
But some of the aggrieved chieftains of the party
including a former national chairman of the party,
Senator Barnabas Gemade, a former governor of
Oyo State, Adebayo Alao-Akala, who recently left
the party, said they could only return to the PDP if
the problems that led to their defection were
tackled objectively.
Gemade, who left the PDP to protest what he said
was a primary skewed in favour of the incumbent
Benue State Governor, Gabriel Suswam, told one of
our correspondents in a telephone interview that
nobody had appealed to him.
Asked if he would yield to President Jonathan’s
appeal not to leave the party, he said, “Nobody has
made any appeal to me. I won’t be able to make
comment on something that has not happened.”
www.punchng.com/news/dont-dump-pdp-jonathan-begs-aggrieved-aspirants-2/

Beggy beggy president

He wan return d money or sumtn?