By Dirisu Yakubu & Blessing Aina

ABUJA—The Forum of former Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, speakers in the State Houses of Assembly has pledged unalloyed loyalty to the National Caretaker Committee, NCC, of the party, led by Senator Ahmed Makarfi.

In a solidarity visit to the party national secretariat yesterday, the former speakers congratulated the NCC on the recent Supreme Court judgment, describing the verdict not “only a victory for members of your committee, and the PDP but a victory for democracy.”

Leader of the delegation and former Speaker of the Gombe State House of Assembly said with the leadership crisis in the party now over, bringing back aggrieved members should be a matter of priority, adding that come the next general election, the PDP will stop at nothing to sweep every seat on offer in the 2019 general elections.

PDP Chairman Sen. Ahmed Makarfi

“We came on this platform because we are from the grassroots and we know you have taken a bold step to be able to amend some past mistakes which lead Nigeria to this situation because it is not only the PDP that is in trouble. Every single individual is feeling the pain of losing PDP at the helms of affairs. Your Excellency, we will continue to give you the support, will continue to encourage you and your able team and by 2019, we are going to celebrate the glorious and successful election where we are going to take all the seats because Nigerians are ready for us, from federal down to local government levels,” Garba said on behalf of the forum.

Responding, Makarfi on behalf of the party thanked the former Speakers for the visit and reiterated the commitment of the party’s leadership to bring about genuine reconciliation across board. Makarfi also emphasized the need to woo old and new members into the PDP fold, urging the forum to play its part in the interest of the party.
“This is the time to join hands together and help the party to reconcile members and this is not limited with reconciling with those who are in court.   Since PDP was formed, a number of members have left, some are doing  siddon look, and some are not active.

“I am ready to do every effort to reconcile with them so that we can revive the party and liberate it, by reconciling with all members of the PDP. We all need to be involved in the membership drive and bring in more members,” he stated, stressing that the task calls for sacrifice.

On the delegation were Mr Friday Itulah and Ahmadu Fintiri, former Speakers of Edo and Adamawa State Houses of Assembly respectively among others.

APC, a copycat — Makarfi
Makarfi used the occasion of the visit by the former Speakers to take a swipe at the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), saying until the PDP held its expanded caucus meeting among others, the APC never remembered there was the need to bring its members together to chart the way forward.

‘We have chosen to be a greater party and even with our crises we are never afraid to hold meetings.  Within two days, we had expended caucus meeting and that meeting was like a market place as even those who were not members of the party came. When we had the caucus meeting, we had the Board of Trustees (BoT) meeting too and the government wanted to copy. They had meeting with the Vice President and some governors were threatening to leave the party because it was the first meeting in over a year or so,” Makarfi said.