The National Reconciliation and Strategy Committee (NRSC) led by former Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has asked the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to sanction any member who undermines the party’s primaries.
The Saraki-led committee stated this while submitting its report to the Dr Iyorchia Ayu-led National Working Committee (NWC) of PDP at the party secretariat in Abuja.
Speaking for the committee, Saraki also urged the party leadership to set up a standing committee to advise it from time to time on the issue of strategy, particularly ahead of the 2023 general elections, The Trumpet gathered.
He said, “Chairman, we need to point out that while so much has been done there is still so much to do. Our party has recently commenced the journey towards electing candidates to contest on the party’s platform in the 2023 general elections at the presidential, gubernatorial, national assembly, and state houses of assembly levels. We have discovered that the conduct of primaries to elect candidates to represent the party has been a source of great intra-party conflict and friction in the past, resulting in the PDP being severely weakened and hampering its chances of success in previous elections.
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“Mr. Chairman, we believe that you and other members of the National Working Committee (NWC) are men and women of great courage and integrity who have displayed a commitment to our great party, its ideals, and values.
We want to advise that the party leadership should at all times adhere to the principles of equity, justice, fairness, good conscience, and inclusiveness. The leadership should always be transparent in taking decisions such that those not favoured by the decision can at least see that they have been given a fair hearing and those whose cases prevail can see that they won on merit, therefore having to be magnanimous in victory.
“We urge you, Mr. Chairman, and other members of the NWC to ensure a thorough and extensive scrutiny process in the selection of the people who will be sent to go and conduct the primary elections in the various states as we prepare for the 2023 elections. They must be people who will be fair to all and adhere strictly to democratic tenets. Sanctions should be meted out to those of them who by their actions create a crisis in any state.
“Also, we need to mention that time did not allow us to dwell much on the area of strategy. We had so much to do in the area of reconciliation. It is therefore our recommendation that the party leadership should explore the idea of setting up a standing committee to advise it from time to time on the issue of strategy, particularly as we prepare for the 2023 general elections.”
