Dickson submits Reconciliation Committee report to Makarfi

Chairman of Reconciliation Committee of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chief

Handing the report to Chairman of the caretaker committee, Sen. Ahmed Makarfi, in Abuja on Wednesday, Dickson said that organs and institutions of the party had crucial roles to play in resolving PDP crisis.

He solicited the support of other party leaders in the effort to reposition the party.

Dickson, the governor of Bayelsa, said that the recommendations in the report were not stone-cast, but opened to additional inputs that could help in the reconciliation and repositioning of the party.

He said that one of the recommendations of the report was that the party’s National Convention should be held early, with a proposal for those to constitute members of the convention planning committee.

“We also suggested that effort should be made to get written resignations of all national officers and all other officers at all levels who claim either by court action or whatever, to have tenures that will go beyond the convention.

“Again, chairman, that is a job we the committee will not be able to do alone.

“It takes you and other stakeholders to assign specific responsibility to leaders that can carry out this role.

“Luckily, God in his infinite wisdom and kindness has given our party this crop of leaders in government and out of government that can help carry out this assignment,” he said.

He said that PDP congresses at the state, local government and ward levels were successfully held and approved by the party’s National Executive Council (NEC) before the party’s crisis started, except in six states.

“We want to make it clear that for us, unless anybody has a hidden agenda, any officer of our party must be the officers elected before the May 21 Port Harcourt National Convention.

“So, we condemn attempts made by anybody for whatever purpose to tinker with the list of elected officials of the party.

“That is an attempt to cripple and destroy the unity we have managed to establish at the lowest levels of the party.

“Our understanding is that the challenge we have is only at the national level and not at any state or zonal level, and those ones are being dealt with,” Dickson said.

Receiving the report, Makarfi said that it would be forwarded to organs of the party to consider and review.

He said that it was left for the party organs, which they were representing, to take a decision on the report and the caretaker committee would comply.

“Your committee has addressed a lot of issues in your report, but I will say it is not verses from the Holy Bible or Quran, and we will not hold it to our chest like Holy Bible or Quran.

“The report is not an end product, it is draft and it is for the organs of the party to discuss.

“I will strongly advise that the other organs should be able to come together and take decisions that will move the party forward. We are not in this position to sit tight.

‘The organs of the party put us here and if the same organs see the proposal and accept it, the caretaker committee will also accept it.

“We do not have any proposal or agenda of our own other than the decisions of the organs of the party."

Makarfi used the occasion to hand over a copy of list of authentic PDP executives from states, local government and at ward level to Dickson.

The list, according to him, was inherited from Sheriff-led former national executive of the party.