By Peter Akpah jos
Hon DT Sango finally resign, Hon Sango made this known in a press conference on thursday the 5th of Dbeenecember 2019 at the party secretariat in jos the plateau state capital, according to him he explained the crises that the state chapter our great party has been rocked by a tsunami-like crisis that has threatened its very existence as one united political party.
This followed my purported suspension along with my deputy as Chair and deputy, respectively, by some members the executive committee on trumped up allegations of mismanaging funds meant for the party’s logistics arrangements in the 2019 presidential election in the State.
Following the unfortunate incident, determined to resolve the crisis and get the Chapter moving again, the national leadership of the Party, led by Prince Uche Secondus, set a three-man committee, under the chairmanship of Senator David Mark, to look into the said allegations and advise it accordingly.
The Senator Mark-led committee swung into action immediately, having an interface with individuals and different stakeholder groups within the Party in the State, including Senators Ibrahim Mantu, Jonah Jang and Jeremiah Useni; former Speakers of the State House of Assembly; sitting members of the National Assembly and State House of Assembly.
The three wise persons, after a painstaking exercise, dutifully submitted their report to the National Working Committee (NWC). On receipt of the report, an interactive meeting between the NWC and selected stakeholders from the state was convened at the Legacy House, Abuja by the National Chairman.
At that August meeting, the National Chairman communicated the following, which were adopted as resolutions:
(i) The Senator Mark Committee did not find me guilty of any financial impropriety, and so I was exonerated of all allegations against me;
(ii) Pursuant to my being exonerated, the group of sixteen executive committee members should write to the NWC, withdrawing their allegations;
(iii) Upon the withdrawal of the allegations, in consideration of the fact that there’s bad blood between me and most of my colleagues in the executive committee, particularly the group of sixteen, and to pave way for peace in the State Chapter, I should step aside as Chairman; and
(iv) In line with provisions of the party’s constitution, my deputy, Hon. Amos Gombi shall be Acting Chairman.
6. Gentlemen of the media, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, this explains why we are here this afternoon. The group of sixteen have written to the NWC as resolved, I have been communicated by the NWC accordingly and I have also written to the NWC; the sequence of events is now complete: I am formally stepping aside as the State Chairman of our great Party.
7. However, before I do this, I seek your indulgence to make a few remarks.
7.1 First of all, I wish to express my sincere gratitude to the PDP family in the State for giving me the opportunity to serve in this capacity. I do no take my three-year sojourn at the helm of affairs of this great Party in the State for granted.
7.2 Secondly, I would like to place on record my gratitude to the national leadership of the Party for the cooperation I received in my official capacity as State Chairman, for standing by me at my most difficult moments, and for the amicable resolution of the crisis that tended to destroy all that we had laboured to put in place in the last three years.
7.3 You will recall that the present leadership of the Party in the State came on board at a time when the Party‘s standing was at an all time low, having lost the governorship of the State to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
7.4 We, thus, had the onerous task of breathing life back into the Party.We did the following, amongst so many other things:
(I) As a first step, while interactions continued informally, we set up a reconciliation committee to assuage aggrieved members, bring back those that left before and after the 2015 general elections, bring back estranged relationships, and recommend steps that would help us move forward, once again. While I will appreciate those that worked tirelessly on the committee later, as I bring this conference to a close, I wish to specially recognize the highly invaluable role played by the Late Barrister Miskom Puepet in this regard.
(II) Conscious of some of the reasons why the APC took power from us in the State, we canvassed and adopted the zoning of the position of governor, deputy governor and speaker for the purposes of the 2019 general elections only, for the first time in the history of the party in the State. It is my hope that we deepen this understanding as we put our house in order and prepare for subsequent elections; and
(III) We came up with a framework that saw us conduct one of the most transparent gubernatorial primary elections in our twenty-one years of practicing democracy in the State.
8. Gentlemen of the media, Party faithful, ladies and gentlemen, I cannot leave the stage without drawing our attention to some developments that have remained pervasive in the last twenty years in the life of our great Party in the State.
9.Although Plateau State is the birthplace of our great Party, its leadership, especially the tenure of the Chairman, has always been dictated by the whims and caprices of some forces. It is on record, and I stand to be corrected, that apart from Chief Raymond Dabo who acted as State Chairman after the exit of Dr. Haruna Dabin, no other was allowed to serve out his term. The self-serving individuals have over the years, through their activities, hindered the optimal functioning of the state leadership, consequently leaving in its trail mistrust among the ranks, and ending up with a fractionalized and factionalized team .My stepping aside this afternoon is a product of such of the activities of such forces that usually feel that the leadership of the Party is there to do their bidding, even at the expense of majority considerations.
10. Let me use this opportunity to specially speak to those of you who may wish to contest certain offices/positions in the future. I have noticed over the years that there is always a tendency of creating confusion within the Party, or outright detection when things don’t go our way, even when primary elections are adjudged free, fair and transparent. Let’s resolve to always join hands with winners in greater interest of the Party.
11. It is my earnest prayer that my exit today shall cause us to resolve that never again shall we allow narrow-focused personal or group interests to determine the tenure of elected leaders of our Party. We cannot afford to have such forced exits (albeit through trumped up allegations, like in my own case) to continue as a common feature of our journey.
12. As I draw this conference to a close, I would like to, on behalf of my colleagues, I extend our depth of gratitude to the following individuals and groups their support and contributions of all forms to making the Party in the State to remain vibrant in spite of being in the opposition:
(i) Senator (General) Jeremiah Useni, our candidate and leader of the Party, for allowing us lean on his broad shoulders; he has, amongst other things, including the welfare of our support staff, ensured that we continue to operate from No. 20/22, Yakubu Gowon Way. He has also remained resolute in the defense of democracy by encouraging our team of lawyers to continue the search for the stolen mandate given him by the Plateau electorate;
(ii) Our esteemed Members of the Board of Trustees from the State: Senator Ibrahim Mantu, Senator Jonah Jang and Ambassador (Sir) Fidelis Tapgun, for allowing us leverage on their goodwill at all times;
(iii) Members of the National Assembly, sitting and past; Senator Istifanus I. Gang, Hon. Beni Lar, Hon. Solomon Maren, Hon.John-Bull Shekarau, Hon. Timothy Golu, Hon. Simon Mwadkwon and Hon. Musa Bagos for their critical interventions to the State Chapter;
(iv) Former Speakers of the State House of Assembly: ET. Hon. George Daika, Rt. Hon. Michael Dapianlong, Rt. Hon. Istifanus Mwansat, Rt. Hon. Emmanuel Go’ar and Rt. Hon. Titus Alams for invaluable contributions to the Party;
(v) Sitting and former members of the Plateau State House of Assembly, for providing guidance to leadership in times of need;
(vi) Our elders who kept coming, giving one advice or the other, to move forward;
(vii) My colleagues in the executive committee, for their cooperation, while I presided over the affairs of our Party;
(viii) Our LGA Chapter Chairmen, our grassroots keepers for holding forth under very difficult settings;
(ix) Our candidates at different levels, for remaining in the house, giving one form of support or the other, even when robbed of freely given mandates;
(x) Our aspirants who chose not chicken out in the face defeat, but remained, providing the needed vibrancy to the Party, even in opposition;
(xi) All those who have held one position or the other, both in government and party, for remaining steadfast;
(xii) Our ever vibrant youths, for always being there in promoting the cause of the Party;
(xiii) Our women, our mothers, for being by our side steadily;
(xiv) Our faithful and loyal supporters who have made us to remain strong, even in opposition;
(xv) Our friends and well-wishers, especially the media who have not only stood by us as an opposition party, but overlooked our shortcomings;
(xvi) The security agencies who have not only provided the needed atmosphere for us to operate, but have exercised patience with us under very difficult times; and finally, not by any means the least,
(xvii) The legal team assembled to handle the cases involving our candidates at all levels, for working tirelessly, with abiding faith, even in the face of outright judicial manipulation.
13. On a personal note, I wish to seize this opportunity to sincerely thank those of you who believed in me and my innocence concerning the allegations levelled against me. I am particularly thankful to my deputy, who did not only stand with me, but demonstrated loyalty, while my travails lasted. I hold no grudges against those who felt and acted otherwise.
14. s I bow out today, feeling fulfilled, and having been cleared of the trumped up allegations, I wish to make a solemn declaration: That as a founding member of this great Party and a former minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I will continue to avail the Party of my services at all levels and at all times. My doors shall remain wide open to all of you.
15. In conclusion, I appeal to us all to forgive one another, let go of sad chapter(s) of the past , leave yesterday behind, and forge a partnership based on the ideals of this great Party. I call on those I am leaving behind in the Executive Committee and other organs of the party to work in harmony with Hon. Amos Gombi, the incoming chairman as the Party finds its footing once more.
16. Finally, I call on you all to stand with our candidate and leader, and the Party as we go the last step to the Supreme Court in search of the mandate freely given to us by the good people of Plateau State.
The interim chairman of the party Amos gobi said he is going to the work and bring back all the aggrieved party members cut across the state, and also call for support for him as was accord to the out going chairman DT Sango, he call on all the party faithful to come on board to move the party (PDP) forward.
Sen JT Useni also said the party is now brand new and all hands should be on deck to positive out come and also call on party faithful to come and all should burry their differences and work for the progress of the party, he also thank the out going chairman DT Sango for clearing himself from all allegations level against him, as for the good work he did for the party.
Sourcenews24/update.com 