Mixed reactions have started trailing the Supreme Court’s
judgment on the lingering crisis in the Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP.
The immediate past Governor of Imo State, Chief Ikedi
Ohakim, who spoke to Vanguard yesterday on phone, said
that “although the Supreme Court has finally given its
verdict on the PDP crisis, the true position is that we have
a no victor, no vanquished situation.”
He called the crisis era “a sabbatical period, from which
the party ought to have learnt some lessons”, even as he
cautioned that the leadership should not be in a hurry to
jump into actions and conclusions.
“The PDP has gone through a lot of trouble for too long.
This is the time to sit down, do a lot of soul searching on
how to reorganize the party and restructure the country.
Nigeria is honestly looking up to PDP for a new lease of
life”, Chief Ohakim said.
In his reaction, the National Vice Chairman of the Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, South East zone, Chief Austin
Umahi described the Supreme Court judgment that
declared Senator Ahmed Markafi as the authentic
national chairman of the party as phenomenal.
Umahi said that God by the judgement has raised the
banner of the party above those he described as
destructive elements whose sole aim was to render the
party powerless.
Speaking also to Vanguard on phone, the State Secretary
of the party in Ebonyi State, Nze Raymond Emeana said it
was time to reconcile and face the onerous task ahead.
“Nigerians are expecting so much from the PDP and we
can’t afford the luxury of failing them. We must rescue
them from their current APC inflicted punishment”,
Emeana said.
For an Owerri based legal practitioner, Mr. Emeka Umah,
“the judgment did not come to me as a surprise because
based on their previous decisions, Markafi was going to
coast home in victory.
“The job starts now, the job of not doing a blind and
destructive reconciliation. This is the time to distill the
faithful from contractors and fraudsters. This is the time
for reappraisal, a time to get back to the grassroots for
confidence building in forthcoming polls”, Umah said.
Reacting to judgment, Dr. Fabian Ihekweme, an acolyte
of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, said “the internal battle was
unnecessary, especially as it gulped huge resources and
time that would have been properly channeled to
improving the lot of the citizenry”.
He said: “Senator Ahmed Markafi should be magnanimous
in victory. This is the time for true reconciliation. He
should carry everyone along. If the party is looking
forward to dislodging the All Progressives Congress,
APC, wherever we find them, it will definitely be counter
productive to keep fighting after the Supreme Court
judgment.”
