Joseph Bakare
Alhaji Kawu Baraje, Leader of the new Peoples’ Democratic Party (nPDP), has restated the groups stand to remain with the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He stated this on Monday in Abuja while speaking with newsmen after a closed-door meeting with the members of APC’s National Working Committee (NWC).
Baraje and the group recently submitted a four-page letter of grievances to the APC leadership and gave it seven days to address the issues.
The group alleged that its members had been badly treated, sidelined and persecuted in the APC.
Baraje told newsmen that the group had begun sorting out its grievances with APC leadership.
“As you are aware, we requested to see the party leadership, and the party, very sensitive and responsible, responded to our requests adequately and we think it is a very encouraging time,” he said.
He explained that the leadership got across to the group last week, asking for a meeting which could not hold because of some logistics.
“We couldn’t come until today; we begged the party to shift the day till today and today we have seen our party.
“We are party members, this office is ours; we have only come home to discuss those observations; the meeting was very beautiful,” he said.
Baraje, however, said that discussion of the issues would continue, explaining that “when talks begin, you can’t say it will end on a particular day, it goes on and on.
“It may please the party to say let’s shift the meeting to another venue to discuss with other stakeholders; so far, we have started talks.
“But, it is a good start, it is a good beginning,” he stressed.
On the splinter nPDP that recently countered his group’s demand on APC, Baraje said such was bound to happen in politics, adding that the group he represented was 95.9 per cent intact.
He denied that the group threatened APC leadership with ultimatum, saying “we only suggested that there was need for APC leadership to attend to our petition within seven days.
“We had in mind, the party’s congresses and National Convention.
On his part, APC Deputy National Chairman, Sen. Shuaibu Lawal, who led other NWC members to the meeting, said the party was taking the group’s observations and disaffections seriously.
“We have not yet resolved; they wrote to us, they are party men, they have grievances, we looked at the letter and their grievances are genuine.
“They requested a meeting within seven days and before the seven days expired, I called them and they were not ready to come.
“They said we should shift the meeting to today, which we did,” Shuaibu, who stood in for the party’s National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, said.