MORE indications emerged yesterday that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees (BoT) chairman and former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo's grip on the ruling political grouping, is waning as it overruled him over his stance that the position of the Speaker of the House of Representatives is still in the South West.
Obasanjo was reported to have said recently that the party would still remove the present Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, who is from North west and give the position to the south west to which PDP had zoned it.
Speaking at a press conference at the national headquarters of PDP in Abuja yesterday, the acting national chairman, Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje, said the issue had been laid to rest following the apology offered by Tambuwal and his Deputy, Emeka Ihedioha.
Baraje said: "We have looked at it critically and we have put it behind us. As far as PDP is concerned, we have put this issue behind us because the people who were said to be involved in this aberration have openly apologised, not only to the party but the entire Nigerians and the entire world that they were sorry they misbehaved. They say it in my place that when a child admits his fault, you don't punish him beyond the necessary level.
"And as a matter of fact the necessary punishment due to such people is the fact that they have apologised. My predecessor, the former national chairman told the entire world, I was not in the country when it happened and I read it on the internet, that the party accepted and the leadership of the party also said it that they have accepted the apology. I am making it clear that we have put that issue behind us."
According to the acting national chairman, the focus of the party now is how to strengthen it and remain election winning platform since the PDP was poised to give Nigeria the best leadership.
Baraje announced that the party had begun membership registration nationwide, adding that PDP, which membership currently stands at about 30 million, is expecting to register no fewer than 40 million members. He said those members who left the party during the last elections were still free to return but based on the fulfillment of the conditions spelt out in the constitution of PDP.
"Let me use this opportunity to clarify the purpose of this exercise. The ongoing membership registration exercise is open to all Nigerians from 18 years and above who fulfill the criteria for membership of our party. It is an opportunity for current members to revalidate and renew their membership of our great party. It is not intended to witch-hunt or exclude anybody from our party. For the avoidance of doubt, our executives at all levels must be informed in clear terms that this is not deregistration exercise, nor is it an opportunity for any one to whimsically deny any Nigerian who is willing and ready to join our party," he said.
Baraje also called for harmonisation of registers kept by different factions in the past stressing, "we now have one PDP as a family".
Before the last general elections, there had been factions in different state chapters of the party resulting in the production of many membership registers.
The Guardian