by Kolapo Olapoju

 

The Peoples Democratic Party says it has begun moves to bring back into the fold, some of their former members, which include former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and Kano State Governor, Rabiu Kwakwanso.

The PDP National Secretary, Wale Oladipo, communicated the development on Friday, January 2 at a press conference in Ile-Ife.

He said: “The PDP has begun moves to bring back some of our former chieftains who are now in the APC. The PDP reconciliation committee set up by the National Working Committee will meet with all former members for the purpose of bringing them back before the next general elections.”

Oladipo enjoined Nigerians to support the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan, going by his achievement in spite of the security challenge confronting the nation, adding that Jonathan had recorded tremendous success in electricity supply, road construction and railway resuscitation, among other achievements.

He also expressed confidence that the PDP will record landslide victory in the election, saying: “The APC presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, is too old to rule Nigeria; he cannot be compared with Jonathan. Buhari is too strict and harsh for Nigerians, while Jonathan is meek, humble and dedicated to the course of democracy and good governance.”

However, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, claimed to be unaware of the development, but added that Oladipo must be “correct” in his utterances.

He said: “I just came back from holiday today (Friday). I have not spoken with the secretary. Oladapo is the secretary of the party and he knows what is saying. I have not heard that before and we have not discussed. But he is a knowledgeable person; he is a professor and I believe whatever he said must be correct, but I am not aware of the development.”

Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the PDP is only engaging in “old tactics” of distraction.

He said, “I think that the PDP has now perfected the art of distraction. We wish them good luck in their endeavour. The APC is no longer a political party; it has become a movement.”

“And when you are dealing with a movement using old tactics, you are about to fail. APC today is driven by the people and the distractions of the PDP will not even scratch us.”

The return of the pair of Atiku and Kwankwaso to the PDP may just be a pipe dream, as the opposition party seems to have envisaged the possibility of the present scenario.

It will be recalled that shortly before the presidential primary of the All Progressives Congress, the presidential aspirants signed a bond that they would not dump the party should they lose the primary.