Saraki Submits Report On Reconciliation, Urges Party Leaders To Be Transparent

Former Senate President, Mr Bukola Saraki has charged the leadership of the People’s Democratic Party to always strive to be transparent in all its dealings so as to create a cohesive, strong and united party.

Saraki made this admonition during the submission of the report of his Committee, the National Reconciliation and Strategy Committee, created to identify and resolve disputes at various levels of the party structure and reconcile aggrieved members to promote cohesion and strengthen the party structure.

Members of the committee, which were drawn from the six geo-political zones includes former Senate President, Anyim Pius Anyim; former Governors Liyel Imoke (Cross Rivers State), Mr Ibrahim Shema (Katsina State), Ibrahim Dankwambo (Gombe State), and former Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon Mulikat Akande-Adeola, with Hon. Linus Okorie as Secretary.

Saraki, while submitting the report to the National Chairman of the party, Mr Iyorchia Ayu, said, having traversed the length and breadth of the country, the committee met with critical stakeholders to identify conflicts at various levels of the party structure and worked together with these stakeholders to resolve them.

He explained that the committee preached “patience, forgiveness, and the spirit of sacrifice for the greater good that we can rebuild our party, restore the confidence of the Nigerian people in us and set out on the important task of rescuing our country. Everywhere we have gone, we have repeated Abraham Lincoln’s wise words ‘We are not enemies but friends. We must not be enemies. Though our passions may strain, they must not break the bonds of our affections’.”

According to Saraki, who is an aspirant for the presidential ticket of the PDP, the message was well-received across the country and formed the foundation for the resolution of drawn-out crises between rival groups and the reconciliation of discontented stakeholders.

“We are pleased to report that our committee was able to work with stakeholders in several state chapters like Borno, Ogun, Ondo, Niger, and Plateau to resolve the crisis that had plagued the party for years.

“In other states like Cross Rivers and Yobe, we have been able to work with stakeholders to rebuild the firm foundation of our party after some members defected. And in some states, while we may not have been able to completely resolve the crises, we have been able to get contending factions to engage in dialogue and set them on a sure path to genuine reconciliation.”

The former governor of Kwara State stated that the committee “recommended to the last NWC the need to slash the nomination and expression of interest fees payable by youths who are aspiring to various public offices in other to encourage members in that demographic to seek elective offices on the platform of the party.

“It should be recalled that our recommendation came after we had a meeting with the youth leaders and other youth groups within the party. That recommendation which was accepted by the NWC has since been copied by other parties,” Saraki pointed out.

He further explained that, “Our party has recently commenced the journey towards electing candidates to contest on the party’s platform in the 2023 general elections at the presidential, gubernatorial, national assembly, and state houses of assembly levels.

“We have discovered that the conduct of primaries to elect candidates to represent the party has been a source of great intra-party conflict and friction in the past, resulting in the PDP being severely weakened and hampering its chances of success in previous elections.

“We believe that you and other members of the National Working Committee (NWC) are men and women of great courage and integrity who have displayed a commitment to our great party, its ideals, and values. We want to advise that the party leadership should at all times adhere to the principles of equity, justice, fairness, good conscience, and inclusiveness.

“The leadership should always be transparent in taking decisions such that those not favoured by the decision can at least see that they have been given a fair hearing and those whose cases prevail can see that they won on merit, therefore having to be magnanimous in victory.

“We urge you, Mr. Chairman, and other members of the NWC to ensure a thorough and extensive scrutiny process in the selection of the people who will be sent to go and conduct the primary elections in the various states as we prepare for the 2023 elections. They must be people who will be fair to all and adhere strictly to democratic tenets. Sanctions should be meted out to those of them who by their actions create a crisis in any state.

“We need to mention that time did not allow us to dwell much on the area of strategy. We had so much to do in the area of reconciliation. It is therefore our recommendation that the party leadership should explore the idea of setting up a standing committee to advise it from time to time on the issue of strategy, particularly as we prepare for the 2023 general elections.”