A former presidential candidate and chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has canvassed a political solution to the crisis bedeviling the opposition party.
Hashim, during a visit to the PDP National chairman, Tanimu Turaki in Abuja, yesterday, said the crisis in the party can be resolved within one week, if the leadership embraces political solutions.
The visit, Daily Sun gathered, is part of an ongoing consultations aimed at achieving an out-of-court settlement to the PDP crisis.
The major opposition party has been embroiled in crisis following tussle for supremacy between the PDP Governors Forum, led by Bauchi State governor and his Oyo State counterpart, Seyi Makinde, and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.
While the Turaki-led National Working Committee (NWC), which was elected at the party’s National Convention in Ibadan last month is backed by the PDP governors, Wike’s loyalists, recently, set up a 13-man National Caretaker Committee to manage the affairs of the party until February 9.
So far, there are no fewer than five legal suits on the PDP crisis before different courts in the country.
Hashim, who was among the conveners of the PDP in 1998 and its first elected deputy national publicity secretary said resolving the crisis politically would better serve the survival of the party and the health of Nigeria’s multiparty democracy in the country.
He noted that the party already possesses the constitutional authority required to resolve the impasse without resorting to litigation.
According to him, Sections 3(1) and 3(4) of the PDP Constitution empowers two-thirds of the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) members to convene a meeting, and explained that the majority of NEC members were elected before the disputed Ibadan convention and therefore retain unquestionable legitimacy.
The PDP chieftain explained that although the tenure of some members of the National Working Committee (NWC) expired on December 8, the pre-Ibadan NEC members remain constitutionally empowered to intervene and take corrective action in the interest of the party.
“There are more than enough legitimate members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) to convene a meeting and resolve this crisis within one week.
“What is required now is courage and responsibility. NEC members must rise above factional interests and stand for posterity, for the party, and for the nation.We can fix this problem, and we should.”
Hashim warned that continued internal dispute could weaken the PDP’s capacity as a credible opposition party and ultimately undermine Nigeria’s democratic balance.
Turaki thanked Hashim for the visit and reaffirmed his commitment to party unity. The PDP chairman noted the party’s National Working Committee (NWC), under his leadership , is open to reconciliation.
However, he stated that such efforts must not compromise the unity, stability, and continued existence of the party.
