PD Chairman, Mu’azu’s peace talks with Obasanjo failed
There are strong indications that
efforts by the Peoples Democratic Party to make former President
Olusegun Obasanjo to have a rethink on his decision to stay away from
the party’s activities have failed.
Investigations on Thursday showed that
Obasanjo insisted when the new PDP National Chairman, Adamu Mu’azu
visited him on January 26, that Jonathan must honour his alleged
promise in 2011 not to contest the 2015 presidential election.
A very reliable PDP national officer confided in The PUNCH
that Obasanjo also gave other conditions that the new leadership of
the party must meet before he would have a change of mind.
They include the restructuring of the
party as well as the correction of the anomalies relating to the
removal of Olagunsoye Oyinlola as the national secretary of the PDP and
Bode Mustapha as national auditor in early 2013.
Mu’azu was reported to have, during the
closed-door meeting in Abeokuta, pleaded with the former President
to back the President’s alleged 2015 interest and other activities of
the ruling party.
Our source said that Obasanjo told
Mu’azu bluntly to address the issues he raised in his December 2,
2013 and January 7, 2014 letters to President Goodluck Jonathan and a
former PDP National Chairman, Dr. Bamanga Tukur.
In his letter to Tukur dated January
7, the former President accused the PDP of negating the principles
of morality by giving prominence to a party chief in the South-West,
Chief Buruji Kasamu.
He also said in the December 2 letter
that Jonathan told him that he had not informed anybody that he would
contest the 2015 presidential election.
Obasnjo had in the letter to the
President said, “Only a fool would believe that statement you made to me
judging by what is going on. I must say that is not ingenious. You may
wish to pursue a more credible and more honourable path.”
The former President added that in
2011, Benue State Governor, Gabriel Suswan, informed him that
Jonathan had accepted a one-term Presidency.
Part of the letter reads, “I decided
to cross-check with you. You did not hesitate to confirm to me that you
are a strong believer in a one-term of six years for the President and
that by the time you have used the unexpired term of your predecessor
and the four years of your first term, you would have almost used up to
six years and you would not need any more term or time.
“I cannot comment much on the
constitutional aspect of your second term or what some people call third
term. That is for both legal and judicial attention.
“As a leader, two things you must
cherish and hold dear among others are trust and honour, both of which
are important ingredients of character.”
He had also said that he would like to see anyone in the office of the Presidency as a man that could be trusted.
But the President fired back at
Obasanjo in his letter dated December 22, 2013. He faulted the
former President’s claim and accused him of wanting to incite
Nigerians against him.
On his purported interest in the 2015
election, Jonathan said, “I am still of the considered opinion that
it would have been best for us to do all that is necessary to refrain
from heating up the polity at this time. Accordingly, I have already
informed Nigerians that I will only speak on whether or not I will seek a
second term when it is time for such declarations.
“Your claims about discussions I had
with you, Governor Suswam and others are wrong; but in keeping with my
declared stance, I will reserve further comments until the appropriate
time.”
The PDP source, who confided in The PUNCH,
said although the party had not given up on efforts to ensure total
reconciliation of Obasanjo and Jonathan, as of now, it (PDP) had not
succeeded.
He said, “Baba (Obasanjo) is still
insisting on issues he raised in his two letters, particularly the
restructuring of the party. He had said that he would withdraw from the
party’s activities, until grievances he mentioned in the letter to
Tukur were addressed.
“On Jonathan’s purported second term
ambition, Obasanjo stated that nothing had changed from what he wrote
in the letter to the President because it is a matter of honour.”
It was gathered that PDP leaders were divided over Oyinlola’s return as the national secretary of the party.
Some members of the National Working Committee are said to be uncomfortable with the idea.
Mu’azu met with Oyinlola at his residence in Abuja few days ago as part of the reconciliation process going on in the party.
The meeting between them was a follow- up to the Obasanjo-Mu’azu parley.
Sources said the Mu’azu-Oyinlola meeting was as a result of the advice given by the former President.
Obasanjo was said to have told Mu’azu
that since the Court of Appeal had reinstated Oyinlola, there was no
need for the PDP to pursue the case to the Supreme Court.
It will be recalled that few days after the judgment, the then Tukur-led NWC announced Oyinlola’s suspension from the party.
Apart from the former Osun State
governor, a former Acting National Chairman of the party, Alhaji
Abubakar Baraje; a former National Deputy Chairman, Dr. Sam Jaja;
and former National Vice-Chairman, North- West, Ambassador Ibrahim
Kazaure, were suspended by the Tukur-led NWC of the PDP.
A member of the new NWC, who spoke with
one of our correspondents on condition of anonymity, said the
committee had yet to be briefed on the outcome of the meeting
between Mu’azu and Oyinlola.
He said, “We are aware of the meeting our chairman had with the former secretary. But we are expecting him to brief us soon.”
He, however, said that not every member of the NWC was favourably disposed to the idea of Oyinlola returning to his position.
The source said, “First, there are those who are saying that we should allow the Supreme Court to handle the matter.
“There are also those who are saying
that he has gone to the All Progressives Congress and that bringing him
back might affect our cohesion.
“But the majority of us in the NWC, who
worked with him, knew that he was innocent of the allegations against
him and that bringing him back would further heal the wounds among our
members.”
None of the former President’s aides could be reached on Thursday to comment on Obasanjo’s stand.
One of his media aides, Mr. Tunde
Oladunjoye, had on January 8, 2014, said that Obasanjo was “not at war
with anybody, including President Jonathan.”
A Presidency source, who pleaded
anonymity, told one of our correspondents on Thursday, that the
President was not losing sleep over Mu’azu’s visit to Obasanjo.
He said, “As far as the meeting between the PDP chairman and the former President is concerned, we are playing politics.
“We know our friends and we know our
enemies. In politics, you don’t befriend your friend alone, you also
befriend your enemies but the visit was politics.”
When contacted, the Special Adviser to
the President on Political Matters, Mr. Ahmed Gulak, said Jonathan was
favourably disposed to any move that would restore total reconciliation
to the party.
Gulak said the President, like any other
well-meaning member of the party, would welcome any step that would
bring back aggrieved members of the party who defected to the APC.
“Mr. President is a man of peace. He will welcome moves that can bring reconciliation to the party,” he said.
On its part, the PDP said the peace mission embarked upon by its national chairman was beginning to yield positive results.
The Deputy National Publicity Secretary
of the party, Abdullahi Jalo, said this in a telephone interview with
one of our correspondents in Abuja on Thursday.
Jalo said the new chairman’s vision of
leading renewed efforts aimed at rebuilding the party was responsible
for the closed-door sessions he held with prominent Nigerians.
According to him, recent interests shown in the party by leading opposition figures are results of the chairman’s efforts.
He cited the defection of a former
Sokoto State governor, Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa, and his Kano State
counterpart, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, from the APC to the PDP to
buttress his claim.
Source: The Punch
