Photo caption: Bukola Saraki, Governor Peter Mbah and another stakeholder
The Peoples Democratic Party Special Reconciliation Committee, chaired by former President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, on Friday, met with Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State.
Mbah is the leader of the party in the South-East zone.
Saturday PUNCH gathered that the meeting, which held behind closed doors at the Enugu State Government House, was part of the efforts to stem the tide of defections rocking the party.
Other members of the committee at the meeting were former governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Seriake Dickson, and former governor of Gombe State, Dr Ibrahim Dankwambo.
Leaders of the party in the zone had, in a communique issued after the South-East PDP Zonal Executive Council meeting a fortnight ago, announced the re-nomination of a former PDP National Youth Leader, Sunday Udeh-Okoye, to serve out the remaining tenure of the National Secretary, threatening exodus should their decision not be respected.
“In the event that our position is not promptly implemented by the party, the South-East PDP, as a family, will be compelled to reconsider our relationship with the PDP going forward,” the communique stated.
But addressing journalists after the meeting with Mbah, Saraki said, “This is the first state we are coming to because we appreciate the importance of the South-East in the PDP family. As you all know, the South-East has played a key role as the bedrock of the popularity and the strength of our party.
“In recognition of that, we are here to consult with him and commend him on the leadership role he has been playing in the party. More importantly also, to commend what he is doing in Enugu State, which is a reflection for Nigerians to see what happens when you have a PDP government.
“In doing that, we discussed how we will ensure that we carry out the assignment given to us and go ahead to have our NEC and our convention. We will have one that is rancor-free and smooth, peaceful, and lays the foundation for the PDP that we all are wishing for.
“We have had a very good discussion. Frankly, we have had a very useful discussion. We are going away with some of the suggestions that we have here and hopefully work on that.
“With this, we can say here in Enugu that we laid the foundation for a greater new PDP that is coming.
“What we have also seen today is that there is nothing insurmountable in the challenge ahead, and the spirit, the commitment of all of us, especially our leaders, is very inspiring.”