Chidoka, who gave the warning in a statement he signed as the PDP caucus members gathered in Abuja for the party’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, threatened that if the party leaders fail to uphold the constitutionality and respect for the rules of the party, he and other PDP progressive members will not hesitate to “lead pallbearers to the funeral of the party”.
Former Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, and chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Osita Chidoka, has warned the leadership of the party against impending disaster if they fail to resolve the internal crisis eating the fabric of the party.
Chidoka, who gave the warning in a statement he signed as the PDP caucus members gathered in Abuja for the party’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, threatened that if the party leaders fail to uphold the constitutionality and respect for the rules of the party, he and other PDP progressive members will not hesitate to “lead pallbearers to the funeral of the party”.
He said, “I address you today with a sense of urgency. As you gather in Abuja tomorrow for the NEC meeting, I want to warn the party of an impending disaster that could sink the ship of the party.
“Let me be clear: if at the NEC meeting tomorrow, the Party fails to uphold the constitutionality and respect for the rules of the party, then I and other progressive members will not hesitate to lead the pallbearers to the funeral of the party as we know it.
“The party must put an end to its submission to filthy lucre and macabre dancing to the music of unprincipled pipers. It must return to the role of providing good governance to its states and principled opposition that Nigerians can trust.
“If tomorrow, the party's ship is not steered away from the gigantic iceberg prominent on its path, the consequences will be dire.
“It is a matter of grave urgency to save the soul of the party that ushered and stabilised democracy in Nigeria.
“The NEC must Act now.”
The opposition party has been ravaged by an internal crisis which started and became tense in the build-up to the 2023 general elections, when former Governor of Rivers State, now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike and other four governors known as G5 governors demanded the resignation of the then-National Chairman of the party, Iyorchia Ayu.
The crisis led to G5 governors to withdraw their support for the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
Since the 2023 general elections, the caucus meeting in Abuja is the first time Wike and Atiku were meeting at the party’s gathering, but it is not clear whether they would settle their differences at the meeting.