Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, on Wednesday expressed concern at the defection of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members to other parties especially the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Dickson, who is the Chairman of the PDP National Reconciliation Committee, appealed to PDP members to remain hopeful, insisting that the party would bounce back soon.
The Dickson’s committee recommended political solutions to the crisis rocking the PDP, but the Ahmed Makarfi-led faction of the party rejected the recommendations and opted for a legal solution.
But the governor in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media Relations, Mr. Francis Agbo, said the party needed genuine reconciliation founded on compromises and forgiveness to play an effective role as a leading opposition voice.
Dickson maintained that he was unhappy with the defections rocking the party and reports of some PDP leaders floating alternative political platforms.
“If PDP leaders had accepted the reconciliation template formulated by the committee, a unity national convention would have taken place this month to elect its national leadership, and this would have put to rest the leadership crisis rocking the party,” he said.
The governor lamented that some party leaders opted for the court which he stressed could only adjudicate and not reconcile feuding parties.
Dickson added: “Political leaders in Nigeria exert too much pressure on the judiciary by failing to do things rightly, by failing to build consensus as well as refusing to respect laid down rules of politics.”
He advised political leaders to stop relying on the judiciary to resolve an internal party affair, adding that such disputes could best be resolved through a political solution.
THE NATION
