Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
The aggrieved members of the new Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP) in the All Progressives Congress (APC) have revealed that the group will go into the specifics of their grievances by Monday next week.
Refuting the claims that the group impressed on Vice President Yemi Osibajo for the Federal Government to drop the trial of Sen. Bukola Saraki, Deputy National Chairman (North) of the APC, Sen. Lawali Shuaibu, revealed the rescheduled meeting.
He said while Monday’s meeting which had in attendance twenty former nPDP members dwelt on ‘general discussions’, the next meeting equally scheduled for next Monday will “go into the business of discussing the (former nPDP) specific demands,” Shuaibu said.
Shuaibu: “When we got to the meeting venue in Aguda House, the Vice President felt we were too many. He said for the meeting to achieve any meaningful result, we needed a much smaller group. On that, there debates as to how many people. The Vice President suggested that the nPDP bring three representatives, and then himself, the Attorney General and myself to make up three so that we have six. But they (nPDP) insisted that they needed more than three representatives and we finally settled on five. From there we went into general discussions, nothing specific.
“We said when they (nPDP) are ready with their five representatives, then we will sit down and go into the business of discussing the specific demands.
“There was no time during Monday’s meeting the condition was given that Sen. Bukola Saraki’s CCT trial must be withdrawn. I don’t know where they got that story from.
“I have a strong feeling that whoever wrote that story was only being speculative because nobody could have said that,” he explained.
Sen, Shuaibu further added that the basis for last Monday’s meeting was the content of the former nPDP’s letter submitted to the Party and copied to the President and Vice President.
“The content of the letter which is now public, that is what the basis of their demands are. At the next meeting on Monday, we will go into the specifics. That letter will be x-rayed point by point.” he said.
Meanwhile, a group, Vanguards for the Protection of Democracy in Nigeria (VPDN), has warned that nPDP’s continued stay in the APC portends danger to the ruling party ahead of the 2019 general election.
The National Coordinator of VPDN, Mrs. Sharon Cham, who led a delegation to to protest at the national headquarters of the party yesterday in Abuja, said that their pressure is causing disaffection in the party.
“We wish to remind the APC leadership that keeping these people in the party portends a lot of danger not only to the party, but to our hard earned nascent democracy.
“Political parties and government are formed by different people with different ideas, but with the same vision and mission to move the country forward.
“However, with the way the members of the nPDP have been mounting unnecessary pressure on the government, causing disaffection in the party; shows that they are out to bring mischief and bad blood among teeming loyal party members,” Cham said.
