Ekweremadu urges party members to stop flexing muscles over leadership

The Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu says members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) should not be flexing muscle over leadership when Nigerians are suffering.

Ekweremadu made the plea on Wednesday when the party’s Reconciliatory Committee, headed by Gov. Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa, visited him in Abuja.

He said, “The country is in crisis. So our house is also burning. We cannot be chasing rats when our house is burning.

“The PDP house that is burning needs to be rescued. Everybody needs to put efforts to ensure that happens.

“There is hunger in the land; there is also anger in the land.

“So we cannot be struggling over leadership when our people are dying of hunger and starvation; while there is tension all over the place,” he said.

He said that the time to act to salvage the situation was now, adding that Nigerians expected all political stakeholders to work for the peace and progress of the country.

“There is hope not because we are here, but because Nigerians want us to show that we care for them.

“Whatever happens, I believe that surely, PDP will be back in 2019," he added.

Ekweremadu, who commended the committee for its effort at reconciling all aggrieved members of the party,called on members to support the peace process.

Earlier, Gov. Dickson said that the committee was at the Assembly to interact with the National Assembly caucus of the PDP over the crisis in the party.

“We are all aware of the unfortunate developments in our party,’’ he said.

He said that the committee had come up with a template to help resolve the crisis, adding that the template was subjected to debate and correction in the overall interest of the party.

“Arising from the consensus developed from the various high level interactions of the leadership of our party, we considered a political solution to the ongoing challenges facing our party,” Dickson said.

“I assure the PDP caucus in the National Assembly that the proposal was made in good faith.

He said there was the need for all PDP stakeholders to agree on a political approach that could lead to resolving the challenges in the party.

“PDP is without prejudice to ongoing judicial proceedings, all leaders of our party should shelve their differences and make sacrifices for the greater good of the party and the nation’s democracy," he added.

Contributing, the leader of PDP caucus in the Senate, Sen. Godswill Akpabio, said effort by the committee was a step toward the final resolution of the crisis in the party.

“We are yearning for peace. I do not know when we got to where we are.

“We are determined for Nigeria to succeed so that we can takeover in peace,” Akpabio said.

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Also speaking, the Minority Leader, House of Representatives and the Leader of PDP in the House, Rep. Leo Ogor said anybody who had genuine reason to lead the party should be given the support.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Dickson handed over a copy of the template to the National Assembly caucus of the party.