The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu has sued for peace in the party, which has been embroiled in crisis since losing abysmally to the opposition All Progressives Congress.
Many prominent members of the party have been calling for the resignation of the chairman who led the party to the disastrous outing.
But Muazu and other members of the National Working Committee, have tried to absolve themselves of blame for the poor outing, rather shifting it to the doorsteps of PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation, who they are claiming ran the show for President Jonathan.
The chairman in a statement on Tuesday urged party stakeholders across the country to put behind the disappointment of defeat, rest all misunderstandings and put the survival and stability of the party ahead of all other considerations.
In the statement signed by him, the chairman who placed a media embargo on his aides , enjoined the party faithful to put the defeat the polls behind them.
According to him, though the party’s defeat in the last general election is painful, members should key into the intervention by President Goodluck Jonathan and not allow the situation to further divide the party.
He said, “The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party has noted the various reactions that trailed the unfortunate loss of our great party in the last general elections. In the last few weeks, the media has been fishing on these reactions with a section even blowing it out of proportion to a level that has become a threat to our oneness as a family.
“As the National Chairman and a key stakeholder in this party in the last 16 years, I quite understand and appreciate the concern, pain and frustrations of our members regarding our defeat. I am also deeply worried about the division the development has generated within the PDP family especially regarding whether or not the national leadership should be dissolved as a direct consequence of our collective challenge.
“In the course of events, there have been reactions and counter-reactions among party members; mistakes have been made, some of them avoidable, but this is the time to put all of them behind us and move ahead as our party and its interest remain paramount and overriding.”
As usual, the media has become the scapegoat. The former Buachi governor who could not secure even 25 per cent of votes in his state for President Jonathan, accused the media of fueling the embers of disunity by allegedly misrepresenting the crisis.
Mu’azu specifically appealed to his ardent critic Ekiti State governor, Ayo Fayose, who has vehemently called for his resignation, to mellow down.
He showered praises on Fayose whom he praised for strengthening the PDP with the victory in Ekiti State, saying: “Having been a state governor on the platform of this party for eight years and having the grace of being a committed member for the past 16 years, I very much appreciate the reactions of some of our members like Governor Ayo Fayose, whose victory in Ekiti in June last year helped to strengthen our party, particularly in the southwest region.
“Nevertheless, in the larger interest of our party, we all must resolve to bury the hatchet, pick our pieces and move on to rebuild our party and return to our winning ways.”
He urged members to cooperate with the party leadership which has set the machinery in motion by the constitution and inauguration of the Post Election Assessment Committee headed by the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu.
Mu’azu also refuted insinuations that he fled the country.
He said that he left the country to seek medical attention abroad on the advice of his doctors, promising to return to the country soon.
