From Taiwo Amodu, Abuja
The Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) Board of Trustees has declared that there was no faction in the party.
Reacting to Wednesday’s defection of two members of the House of Representatives from the main opposition party to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), former Minister of Transport and secretary of the board, Chief Ojo Madueke, said the crisis that emanated from the party’s national convention held in Port-Harcourt was being resolved.
He further submitted that the claim of factions in the erstwhile ruling party was part of a grand plot to decimate the opposition party. The statement titled: “To defect or not to defect: The politics and the law,’’ read in part: “News has reached us of decisions by some PDP members to defect to another political party on the pretext of the existence of a faction in PDP.
“It is important to clarify, unequivocally, that there is no faction in PDP. There was only one approved National Convention which took place in Port Harcourt on Saturday May 21, 2016, which, in accordance with PDP Constitution approved some far-reaching resolutions
“Subsequent meetings of, first, Board of Trustees members, and secondly, meetings with Governor’s Forum, leadership of National Assembly and former ministers in PDP government and PDP former governor’s forum, held, and decided to work together.
“Aggrieved members are being reconciled across the length and breadth of the nation. The rank and file of the party have resolved to work together, and PDP has never been stronger than it is now, since its
entry into the honourable role of a robust and principled opposition.
“Any suggestion of a faction, is, at best, ill-informed and ignorant, and, at worst, part of a grand plan to decimate the only political platform today, that is ready, experienced and able to honour the nation’s invitation to have a credible opposition party that will hold government of the day accountable and, thereby, strengthen and nourish our young democracy.
‘’Let it, therefore, be understood by those of our members in the National Assembly, who may be tempted to jump ship, or have already jumped, that on the basis of clear decisions of cases decided in the Supreme Court, they stand the risk of losing their seats in parliament if they went ahead with their latest indulgence. Our party will insist on a declaration of vacancy and subsequent elections in affected constituencies in the event of such misguided defections. The pattern of PDP electoral victories all over the federation since the 2015
general elections shows that where there is election arising from such vacancies, PDP will return a more credible and more loyal representative of the people.’’