PDP Falls Apart: Amaechi, Atiku, Babangida, Saraki & 8 Govs Forms New Party

Governor Rotimi Amaechi

A major crisis on Saturday hit the ruling Peoples Democratic Party as seven governors and former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar formed a faction of the party at the national level.

The governors, who are members of the new faction, include Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto); Babangida Aliyu (Niger); Rabiu Kwankwanso (Kano); Muritala Nyako (Adamawa); Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara); Sule Lamido (Jigawa) and Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers)

Also in the faction are an acting National Chairman, Kawu Baraje; a suspended National Secretary, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola and a former National Deputy National Chairman, Dr. Sam Jaja.

The press conference at the Sheu Yar’Adua Centre  Abuja, where the faction announced its emergence, was attended by many members of the national and state houses assembly.

The National Chairman of the faction, Baraje, said the leaders of the party came together to rescue it from undemocratic tendencies of “the former national chairman,” Bamanga Tukur.

He said, “We address you today as leaders of the PDP, who are worried by the increasing repression, restrictions of freedom of association, arbitrary suspension of members and other such violations of democratic principles by a faction of our party led by Tukur.”

He said they had  done everything humanly possible to bring to the attention of critical stakeholders within the party  to the dangers inherent in the course being charted by that leadership (Tukur).

The factional chairman said, “It has become very clear that the desperate permutations towards 2015 general elections have blinded certain people from the consequences of their actions.

“Not only has the constitution of the party been serially  violated by Alhaji Tukur and fellow travelers, all the organs of the party have been rendered virtually ineffectual by a few people who act as though above the law.”

Baraje noted that the Presidency had been encouraging the Tukur- led faction.

“Unfortunately, it is obvious that that they get encouragement from the presidency whose old calculations are geared towards shutting out any real or imagined opposition ahead of the party’s presidential primaries for the 2015 elections.”