Gusau, Mark lobbied Jonathan to hold PDP peace meeting – Adeyeye

April 14, 2017 The Nerd Community 0 Comments

The sacked National Caretaker Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party, led by Senator Ahmed Makarfi, said in Abuja on Friday that a former National Security Adviser, Gen. Aliyu Gusau (retd.) and a former President of the Senate, David Mark, asked ex-President Goodluck Jonathan to convene the botched peace meeting of the party.

The Makarfi-led faction explained that the decision to invite Jonathan to mediate in the crisis was reached at a meeting attended by the National Chairman of the party, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff; National Secretary, Prof. Wale Oladipo; Sen. Ben Obi, Gusau, Mark and Makarfi.

Sheriff’s deputy, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, had alleged that Jonathan was drafted into the peace initiative by Governors Nyesom Wike and Ayodele Fayose of Rivers and Ekiti State respectively.

But, while reacting, spokesperson for the faction, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, who spoke on behalf of Makarfi, described the allegation as uncharitable. He said it was agreed at the meeting that both Gusau and Mark should approach the former President to convene an all-inclusive meeting of stakeholders in order to chart a way forward for a lasting peace in the party.”

He added, “For the record, the last stakeholders meeting convened and chaired by the former President Jonathan was not sponsored or organised by Wike or Fayose as alleged by Ojugboh. The need for the meeting was agreed upon at the residence of the former NSA, Gusau, in the presence of Sheriff, Oladipo, Mark, Makarfi and Obi.

Adeyeye, a former minister of state for works, said, “Indeed, it is the height of irresponsibility for Sheriff and Cairo to allege that a person of President Goodluck Jonathan’s standing could be induced by anyone not the least a governor to organise the meeting.”

On the plan by Sheriff to convene the National Executive Committee meeting of the party and subsequently hold national convention, Adeyeye called on the members of the party to ignore the move. He said no elective national convention of the party would hold until the appeal before the Supreme Court was decided.