The Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, says it is expecting to receive “high-profile” defectors
in the next three weeks.
The chairman
of the party’s Non-Elective National Convention, Ifeanyi Okowa, who is also the
governor of Delta State, said this on Thursday while addressing journalists in
Abuja.
Mr. Okowa
said the party was preparing to welcome the defectors, but did not disclose
their identities or the political parties they are about to desert.
The
governor, who addressed the journalists after inspecting the Eagle Square venue
of the party’s non-elective convention holding on Saturday, said necessary
arrangements had been put in place to ensure a successful event.
“We just
came to see what is on the ground. I believe that our people will be safe
because we have everything under control, we are not expecting hitches at all.
“We are
doing very well as a party and as a committee. In this kind of planning you
will have some challenges here and there, but there are solutions being
proffered to every one of them and we are confident that we are on the right
track and it shall be well on Saturday.
“I believe
that a lot of people who thought that the party was going to implode will
realise that we are back and ready to offer what it takes to better the lives
of Nigerians.
“Many of our
members that left earlier due to one form of disagreement or the other will
return to their party because the National Caretaker Committee has constituted
a Reconciliation Committee as well as a Contact and Mobilisation Committee to
reach out to them.
“From the
way things are going presently in this country, I believe Nigerians will
realise that PDP is the only alternative that can bring Nigeria out of her
present economic challenges. We are expecting high profile defectors in the
next three weeks or so.”
Mr. Okowa
said the party has confidence in its committees and members and is sure the PDP
will make a comeback in 2019.
The All
Progressive Congress, APC, however waved aside that some of its members would
defect to the main opposition party.
APC
spokesperson, Bolaji Abdullahi, said, “Three weeks is not forever; we will wait
for it to come. We are confident that we will not lose any of our valuable
members to the former ruling party”.
He said the
PDP was just making unsubstantiated claim.
In another
development, the National Chairman of the PDP National Caretaker Committee,
Ahmed Makarfi, said a crisis relating to the South-West zone of the party had
been resolved.
“Yesterday,
Wednesday, we had a meeting with the leaders from the zone to resolve the
issues.”
“As a party,
we will continue to work hard not to lose anybody, but we will work harder to
bring in more members to the party,” he said in Abuja.
Also on
Thursday at the PDP national secretariat at a meeting of the committee set up
by the party to screen the seven governorship aspirants for the Anambra State
election, the committee expressed displeasure over acts of indiscipline by some
of the aspirants.
The Chairman
of the Screening Committee, who is also the former Minister of Police Affairs,
Adamu Waziri, said it was unfortunate that some of the aspirants had not shown
up for the screening, 90 minutes after it was scheduled to begin.
The
aspirants screened on Thursday were Okechukwu Emeka, Alex Obiogbolu, Linda
Ikpeazu, Oseloka Obaze, Ifeanyi Uba, Stella Oduah and Akolisa Ufodike.
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