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By Myke Agunwa, Abuja
As the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) continues to close ranks in a bid to find solutions to its leadership crisis, the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike on Monday, hosted critical stakeholders of the party in Abuja.
The guests came under the aegis of “Concerned Stakeholders of the PDP”.
Welcoming his guests, Wike stated that the concerned stakeholders are those who believe in the survival of the party and working hard to ensure that the party does not die.
“All of you here are those who are committed to the survival of our party not just on TV talking or on the newspapers talking but committed to the party at the various levels.
“Today, this country is stabilized because of the activities of the G5 Governors. You may like us, you may hate us. The truth of the matter is if G5 did not take the decision we took, this country would have been in crisis. It doesn’t matter who the beneficiary was but the right thing had to be done and we still stand by that decision.
“If the party had listened to what we said, we won’t have been where we are today and we have continued to sound it to the party: let the constitution of the party and of the country be respected.
“That, as an opposition party, we cannot continue to act with impunity. No opposition party acts with impunity. Ours is to continue to placate people and bring them together, not to say that they should go to hell.
“Let us not allow greed, let us not allow ego to kill our party, ” Wike said.
The former governor of Rivers State wondered why the some party stakeholders are interested in the position of the national secretary and wants Sen. Samuel Anyanwu to he removed against the constitution of the party. He reminded his guests that Governor Agbu Kefas of Taraba state was the chairman of the party in the state and that he did not resign before contesting the governorship but only went back to resign after winning the election.
He said the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the party, Ibrahim Abdullahi, also contested the Kebbi state governorship and that he retained his seat even after losing the election.
Adding his voice, former governor of Benue state, Dr. Samuel Ortom who is also a member of the G5 stressed that he who pays the piper dictates the tune. He challenged anyone in Nigeria to tell Nigerians who has contributed to the growth of the PDP more than Wike.
He said the president understands that the country cannot be a one-party state which was why he appointed Wike into a very sensitive position as the FCT minister.
“For whatever reason, PDP made a lot of mistakes and we are where we are today”, he said.
The meeting was still ongoing behind closed doors as of the time of filing this report.
While it was not immediately clear whether the Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, a member of the G-5 was invited to the meeting, his colleagues – Ifeanyi Uguanyi (Enugu), Samuel Ortom (Benue) and Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia) were present.
Others at the meeting included the National Secretary of the PDP, Senator Samuel Anyanwu; former Senate Minority Leader, Philip Aduda; serving and former federal and state lawmakers, some zonal and state party executives, among others.