PDP (BoT) leaders offer to visit Buhari in London

Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Walid Jubril, yesterday, said the party leaders are ready to visit President Muhammadu Buhari in London.

Buhari has received top dignitaries at the Abuja House in London, where he has been on vacation since January 19.

In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), yesterday, Jubril said PDP leaders were ready to visit Buhari if granted the opportunity.

He denied reports that the party promoted the rumoured death of the president.

“Let him (Buhari) be well and come back to continue with his leadership of Nigeria. If we are given the opportunity, the PDP leaders will even go to London to wish him well and sympathise with his family,” Jubril said.

He also spoke on the lingering crisis in the party, saying efforts were being made to resolve the problems and “forge ahead.”

“By the grace of God, we are coming clean and the PDP will never die, it will remain as a very strong party,” he said. Jubril cautioned key stakeholders against confusing party members and advised them to support ongoing reconciliation efforts by well meaning Nigerians, including former President Goodluck Jonathan.

Meanwhile, National Chairman of the PDP, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff has directed all administrative members of staff of the party to resume work, immediately, at the party’s National Secretariat or risk sanctions.

He said contrary to their rules of engagement, some members of staff have taken partisan stand in the leadership crisis rocking the opposition party.

The national chairman gave the warning, yesterday, in a statement issued by the PDP acting National Publicity Secretary, Bernard Mikko.

This came 24 hours after the PDP staff members, who accused Sheriff of running the party with handpicked national officials, said they will not resume work at the Wadata Plaza until peace returns in the party.

“Members of PDP Welfare Association and, indeed, all committed members of staff of the national secretariat, who have not resumed duties, should, immediately, get back to work as they are neither on trial nor involved in any crisis or litigation necessitating any form of political or legal solution.

“However, recent events and pronouncements of some members of staff, under the guise of PDP Welfare Association, have shown they have breached their terms of employment and conditions of service and, now, engaging in the selection, determination and emergence of their bosses who are political leaders at the Wadata Plaza. This is gross abuse of office and totally unacceptable,” the statement read.

Regardless, as the crisis in PDP festers,  Sheriff has said he cannot be anybody’s stooge in the country.  He stated this, yesterday, while receiving members of the Patriotic Northern PDP Stakeholders who visited him at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.

Sheriff said he never wanted to be national chairman, but was prevailed upon by some leaders of the party who invited him to come and reposition the opposition party.

“I never wanted to be chairman of PDP; I was brought to reposition the party. When I can in, PDP was drifting.

“In my first week as chairman, PDP became the darling of Nigerians like in 1999, and we won elections,” he said.

The PDP leader said his major preoccupation at the moment is to take the party back to the grassroots and hold a national convention and, thereafter  quit.

Sheriff said even though he has decided not to re-contest the national chairmanship position at the planned convention, he would ensure the right people are elected at the convention to lead the party.

“The convention will take place as soon as possible in Abuja. It will be open to all Nigerians so we can see how transparent it is.

We are making wider consultations. I won’t bend and I will never be a stooge to anybody in Nigeria,” he declared.

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