October 4, (THEWILL) – The Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has declared Tuesday’s closed-door meeting with Rivers Governor Nyesom Wike inconclusive.
The meeting was part of efforts to resolve the post-presidential primary crisis plaguing the party. The Rivers State governor is at the centre of the crisis following his call for the resignation of the National Chairman Iyorchia Ayu.
Led by Acting Chairman of the BoT, Adolphus Wabara; others in the entourage included Ibrahim Idris, Shuaib Oyedokun, Zainab Maina, Esther Uduehi, Okwesilieze Nwodo, and Tanimu Turaki.
They arrived at the Government House in Port Harcourt, the venue of the meeting. The visiting BoT members were joined in the meeting by some BoT members who are from Rivers State and other state leaders of the party.
The Rivers contingent for the meeting included State Chairman of the PDP, Desmond Akawor; former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chibudom Nwuche; BoT member and chairman of the Rivers PDP Elders Council, Ferdinand Anabraba; former Chief Whip of the Senate, Adawari Pepple; Chief of Staff to the Rivers State Governor, Emeka Woke; elder statesmen, Sam-Sam Jaja and Emma Anyanwu.
Addressing newsmen after the meeting, Wabara, said although the meeting was fruitful, it was not conclusive.
He expressed optimism that the crisis rocking the party would soon be resolved.
Wabara said the meeting afforded them the opportunity to properly understand the concerns of Governor Wike and are better informed about the crisis.
He added that they were taking what they had gathered from Governor Wike back to the larger BoT house in Abuja for a proper decision on the issue..
His words: “We have been robbing minds for the past four hours with His Excellency, the performing governor of Rivers State, Mr Project. This meeting took about four hours. We have not concluded.
“You know to make peace takes some time. But, I think we are at it. We are better informed. Every coin has two sides. We have been briefed by His Excellency. We are going back to Abuja to digest all that we have gathered.
“It has been very fruitful but one thing we must understand is that this family still remains one under one umbrella called PDP and by the special grace of God, we will end up very victorious. With his (Wike’s) cooperation and the support of all other governors, we will make progress.
“In concrete terms, it is a work in progress. As I said, we will get there. We will definitely get there. This is the first time members of the Board of Trustees are coming to see His Excellency and for your information, he is also a member of the Board of Trustees. We robbed minds and we will find a solution very soon.
“Presidential campaign has started and it is the policy of our great party that we all go home and campaign. His Excellency is here and he is campaigning for the party.
“In Abia State where I come from, we are also campaigning. You know there is no ballot box in Abuja. Everyone on us here is from one zone or the other.
“Our governor here is a PDP governor. Even if he does not really come out to campaign, he has campaigned with all the projects he has executed in Rivers State as we speak.
“I said this yesterday to one of your colleagues; I am acting chairman of the Board of Trustees and I do not have the exclusive ability to come out here to tell you what the Board of Trustees will come out with.
“We are going back and will convene a meeting of the Board of Trustees and that is when Nigerians will hear the decision of the Board of Trustees. Since it is an advisory body and conscience of the party, we will be there to tell the party the truth about our findings and nothing but the truth.”
Also Speaking, Wike on his part said what was important is that the PDP is united.
He reiterated that he and his allies were not leaving the party, but are more interested that the contending internal issues be addressed adequately.
“As the BoT acting chairman said, the most important thing is to have unity. What is important is that the house is united. So, the issue of whether we achieved peace today or not is immaterial.
“What is important is to have unity, even if it takes you longer days. I think that is the message he (Wabara) is conveying.
“We have said repeatedly that we are not leaving the party. We have said so. But that does not mean that there are no internal issues that ought to be sorted out. I think what they are here for is to see how they can sort out some internal issues.”
On whether he was hopeful the internal crisis would be resolved, Wike replied: “Once you are alive, why won’t you be hopeful. It’s only a dead person that is not hopeful. So, being alive means you are hopeful.”
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