Obasanjo, IBB, Others Meet Tukur, Baraje PDP Factions

Baraje Inspects Faction’s Secretariat

FORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo-led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) elders Friday met with the two warring groups of the party at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja in furtherance of their resolve to find a solution to the crisis rocking the party.
    The five elders at the two separate meetings included former military President, Ibrahim Babangida, PDP Board of Trustees Chairman, Chief Tony Anenih, and two former PDP National Chairmen, Senators Barnabas Gamade and Ahmadu Alli.
     Former Vice President Alex Ekwueme and first national chairman of PDP, Chief Solomon Lar who were supposed to be part of the Obasanjo group of elders to mediate between the two groups, were absent and Obasanjo later confirmed that the two were out of the country.
   The Obasanjo elders’ group would on Tuesday meet with the warring factions at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa in the presence of President Goodluck Jonathan.
  The PDP elders  met with the two groups at different locations in the hotel. While  the Bamanga Tukur-led PDP stayed in Benue Hall, the Baraje group were at the Kaduna Hall.
   The elders shuttled between the two locations throughout the five-hour duration of the meeting.
 Tukur was accompanied by Governors Henry Seriake-Dickson, Godswill Akpabio and  Jonah Jang and PDP acting national secretary, Remi Akitoye to the meeting.But Baraje was accompanied by Governors Sule Lamido, Magatargada Aliu Wamakko and Rotimi Amaechi.
  Briefing journalists immediately after the meetings, Obasanjo said: “I thank you for exercising patience. You have seen five of us. As select elders of the party, we have taken it upon ourselves to prevent the worst from happening to our party.
   “Two of us, Lar and Ekueme are abroad and could not join us but we are carrying them along. But suffice to say that there is family dispute within the PDP which we want to stem the tide of and prevent our party from  going to the brink.
   “And I want to say that we have met with the two sides of the family. We have listened to them and of course, we are going to put our heads together and go on from there”.
  But there were signs yesterday that the outcome of the meetings may not have been as pleasant as desired.
  Baraje and Lamido shortly after leaving the meeting venue at 2.30 pm, went straight to the location of the secretariat of their faction at 4, Oyi River Crescent, Maitama.
   The two-storey building secretariat has Plot number 3206A boldly written on it. Although the sign board placed on the side of the building was covered, the gate had the PDP colour of Green, White and Red.
  Renovation work was still ongoing at the building.
  Earlier reports that the Baraje PDP faction would open its secretariat however did not come to pass Friday as the group merely inspected it and left hurriedly.