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The ruling All Progressives Congress has derisively offered to help the Peoples Democratic Party resolve the lingering leadership and internal wrangling threatening to tear the party apart, saying the PDP needs all the help it can get at the moment.
This was even as the opposition party kicked, blaming the ruling party for its contribution to the current crisis rocking its leadership boat.
The exchange of salvos comes in the wake of fresh fear that the individual ambition of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Bauchi Governor, Bala Mohammed, and his counterpart in Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, may worsen the party crisis and scuttle the ongoing reconciliatory effort of the Olagunsoye Oyinlola-led committee.
In the past one year, the PDP camp has been polarised and divided into factions loyal to Atiku and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
That was before Mohammed, who doubles as the chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum, also indicated an interest in running for the presidency in 2027.
However, Wike and Atiku have been perceived as the reason the opposition party hit an all-time low since losing the election in 2023.
To make matters worse, Mohammed joined forces with the growing dissenting voices of chieftains who wanted the PDP National Chairman, Umar Damagum, kicked out of the party.
However, the ambitious Bauchi State governor volunteered to step down from the race and give his blessing only if former President Goodluck Jonathan agreed to return to the party to contest.
He disclosed this two months ago at an event organised by a non-governmental organisation, Save Africa Initiative, in Abuja.
According to him, Nigerians are not happy with President Bola Tinubu’s administration, but Jonathan has the requisite experience to revamp the economy and would do a good job if given a second chance to manage the country.
But the camp of the former president was silent on the issue, fuelling speculations that he might not be interested in the proposition.
Lately, several party bigwigs loyal to Wike have started drumming for the candidacy of Makinde ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Meanwhile, Makinde has openly addressed the growing agitation for his candidacy, saying he has not decided.
The governor stated that he was old enough to speak for himself on any issue without fear or intimidation, adding that he would do so publicly if he had anything to say about his political future.
Makinde spoke again last Saturday, warning that the 2027 election would be between the ruling APC and Nigerians.
He gave the warning during the inauguration of the late Olusoji Adagunodo zonal secretariat of the PDP in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
The PDP bigwig added that nobody except himself can set an agenda for his political career.
Reacting in, the National Publicity Director of APC, Bala Ibrahim, told Saturday PUNCH that the ruling party was ‘deeply touched’ by the current crisis rocking the opposition party.
Ibrahim further stated that in a show of solidarity, the ruling party was willing to help resolve the PDP’s internal crisis should their members make a formal request.
The APC spokesman also wondered how a party that is struggling to resolve a family affair could still be begging Nigerians to entrust the leadership of the country in its care.
He said, “We are looking at it (PDP crisis) from the outside and laughing at them. We look forward to a time when they will solicit our help on how to solve their problem. This should tell Nigerians that this is the kind of leadership they wanted to bequeath to the nation.
“Anybody who cannot handle his family issue should not seek to be entrusted with the problems of the nation. The PDP has now shown everybody that it is a poor manager of crisis. They are the ones that put Nigeria in this present crisis simply because of their short-sightedness and lack of internal democracy.
“Now, they are showing their true colour. It is unfortunate. But if they regain their consciousness and want to be guarded as to how to play party politics, the APC has established the Progressive Institute, where people can enrol and be tutored on how to play politics under democracy.
“We will give them all the help they need with a proviso once they make a formal request that they are overwhelmed by problems and don’t know the solutions.”
But the Peoples Democratic Party didn’t find Bala’s utterances funny, saying it felt insulted.
Speaking with our correspondent, the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Ibrahim Abdullahi, said it was unfortunate that the APC could be mocking its leadership when it was obvious that the saboteurs it planted in its party were behind their woes.
He said, “We have no time for them. Of course, we know they are laughing at us because of the few elements they are using to cause disharmony in our camp. To be honest, we deserve to be laughed at. You can’t blame them.
“After all, some people have decided to give us out cheaply as they are doing. But whether they have anything to come and teach us is another thing entirely.”
