‘APC, Buhari not to blame for crisis,’ Okupe says

The convention, which was slated to hold today, August 17, 2016, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, was postponed after security agents sealed off the original venue, Sharks Stadium.

The meeting at which the decision was reached was eventually convened at the Rivers State Government House.

Okupe made his comments via a post on his Facebook page. He said:

“The failed PDP convention cannot and should not be blamed on our political adversaries. Rather, the blame should rest squarely on the failure of internal conflict resolution machinery of the PDP, the surprising naivety and desperation of many to seize power and control the party, and the gullibility of majority of the followership, who have become entrenched in the cesspool of pervasive impunity of our leadership over the years.

“However, it is commendable that the NEC threw sentiments aside and extended the tenure of the controversial caretaker committee by one year and allowed for future expansion of the membership of the committee.

“The import of this is that the party has now officially jettisoned the ‘microwave strategy’, hitherto employed by the leadership, and allowed for ample time to address all issues.

“By allowing for new inclusions into the members of the caretaker committee, the leadership obviously has made room for possible reasonable negotiation with Senator Ali Modu Sheriff’s group, which is inevitable and a political imperative, if the party must remain united.

“Again, this is neither the time for victory songs nor a season for political vendetta. This is time for seeking lasting and honest peace, time to rebuild from the current ashes of flames of the inferno of political opportunism, greed, selfishness and blatant brigandage and impunity.

“There may just be another chance to do it again especially now that our adversaries are burning their political access card.”

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The PDP was thrown into crisis on May 21, 2016 after attempting to remove Ali Modu Sheriff from the position of chairman.