The inability of the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to take advantage of the challenges within the party to make the party stronger, has been a source of worry to Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue state.
Ortom said this while briefing journalists after a closed-door meeting with the Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal in Benue Peoples House, Makurdi, the state capital.
Tambuwal, who doubled as the Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum visited Ortom at the weekend over the lingering crises in the party.
The meeting was held at the instance of Tambuwal. According to Ortom, they discussed various issues bordering on the internal wrangling rocking the party.
He said “Tambuwal is the Chairman of PDP Governors Forum and currently the acting Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum and the Director General of the PDP Presidential Campaign Organization. This meeting is at his instance.
“We discussed several issues including the division in the PDP and the G-5, of which I am a member. He is principally here to see how we can team up and work together as a party.
“I have told him we are members of the PDP and as I have always said, the leadership of this party have failed to take advantage of the challenges of the party and make the party stronger right from when we held our national convention,” Ortom stated.
“Instead of the party deploying its internal conflict resolution mechanism to look at the grievances that arose as a result of the primaries they totally failed to do the needful.
“Rather it is arrogance and a nonchalant attitude. Nobody cared to reach out to us even when we voiced out that things were not going well.”
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While commending Tambuwal for taking the bull by the horns, he believed that the ongoing wrangling in the party can still be resolved amicably, stating that “I think this matter can be resolved and I believe that as a leader and as DG of the campaign, he will do the needful because I am not alone”.
Beckoning the Sokoto State Governor to as well reach out to other aggrieved members of the party “talking to me alone will not solve the problem, but reaching out to others will be more meaningful”.
Answering questions from newsmen Tambuwal said he had a fruitful conversation with Governor Ortom who he noted is one of the leaders of the PDP who holds an important position in the affairs of the party.
He said “We have had time to converse and engage on what is happening in our party. He is the leader of the right in this party. And when you look at his trajectory, his political history and where he is today, he holds a very important position in the affairs of our party.”
Tambuwal was accompanied by the former governor of Benue state, Gabriel Suswam.
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