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Leave Dariye alone, PDP tells Chris Alli
Yusuf Alli, Abuja
The Peoples Democratic Party said on Tuesday in Abuja that the suspended Governor of Plateau State, Chief Joshua Dariye, should be left alone, declaring that the imposition of emergency rule in the state was enough source of 0trauma for the deposed governor.
The party also asked the Sole Administrator, Major- Gen. Chris Alli (rtd), not to tamper with the existing government structure.
Alli had earlier pledged to reorganise the machinery of government in the state to make them cost effective and service oriented.
Two days ago, he began the exercise with the sacking of chairmen of at least five corporations in the state.
The reorganization under which the 20 ministries created by Dariye were collapsed into 14 came on the heels of speculations that it was only a matter of time before Alli would probe the affairs of the state under the suspended governor.
PDP National Chairman, Chief Audu Ogbeh, who stated the party�s position on the events in Plateau State while addressing chairmen of the party in 15 out of 17 local governments in the state, led by the state chairman of the party, Mr. Maichibi Vwarji, said Dariye had experienced enough trauma. �I was in Sokoto during the bicentenary celebration of the caliphate and somebody, a journalist, came and said that there were people who were saying that your governor (Dariye) should be tried. And I said, for what offence? He said for allowing the Plateau crisis to happen.
�I am still to read the law books to know where that kind of trial could emerge. We don�t just act on the basis of sentiment, we are a country guided by the constitution and the law.
�At any rate, I asked him that, �Don�t you think that the trauma of the state of emergency is enough punishment for our governor and the people?� The journalist smiled.
�I said, go and record that. That (state of emergency) is enough and more than enough.
�We as a party took the state of emergency as a sacrifice to the nation because there are crises in other states. We don�t want to say that there must be states of emergency in other states. We hope and believe that by the grace of God, this will be the last.�
He further condemned the opposition in Plateau State for seeking power through the back door either through a call for fresh election in Plateau or the trial of Dariye.
�When I heard people saying that there would be elections in Plateau State, we wonder under which constitution that provision is being made. We are guided by the constitution; there is nothing that says that at the end of the emergency, we will go to an election.
�I think the opposition was being over speculative and over expectant. I can assure you that PDP will not allow any other party to take over Plateau State from you, not even after a hot battle during the elections.�
Ogbeh asked PDP leaders from Plateau State to inform the party secretariat of any shortcoming noticed in the way and manner the sole administrator was conducting the affairs of the state maintaining that Alli had been advised not to tamper with the government structure in the state.
�We need to know because one of the advice we gave was that the government structure should not be tampered with. I think by and large, the sole administrator had taken that advice because I met him.
�If you tamper too much, then of course, new comers will come in and will make sure that the crisis does not even go away.
�If there is any development worrying you, please let us know and we will discuss.�
He assured that on or before the expiration of the emergency rule, democratic structure would be restored to Plateau State.
�It is true that when the President sent the State of Emergency bill to the National Assembly, we were faced with two options. The options were either to make it succeed or let it flop and then lose the grip, which the government and the party were supposed to hold.
�At times, you cane your child, even though you love your child. Mothers cane their children, yet you see the children clinging to them. We are sad that in Plateau there is a kind of pain. Let me say that out of that pain, something good will germinate.
�What will make the state of emergency come to an end either before or at the expiration of six months is what we, as PDP, will work for because it is our party.�
It was earlier learnt that PDP elders and chairmen in local councils in Plateau had, among other things, asked the party leadership to call the sole administrator to order over the dismantling of government structure in the state.
Although the parley between the party chairmen in the state and the PDP leadership later went into a closed-door session, it was learnt that it was agreed that Ogbeh should lead a team to Alli to ask him to avoid tampering with government�s structure in the state.
Ogbeh later visited the Presidential Villa and by 6 pm the PDP chairman was said to be meeting with Vice-President Atiku Abubakar but it was difficult to establish if the visit to the villa had anything to do with the protest by the party�s leaders in Plateau State.
The immediate past Commissioner for Health in Plateau State, Mr. Patrick Daku, however, said, �PDP in Plateau is cooperating with the Sole Administrator.�
Meanwhile, barely five days after regaining freedom, the former Deputy Governor of Osun State, Chief Iyiola Omisore, visited the National Secretariat of the PDP in Abuja and held closed-doors talks with the leaders of the party.
Omisore�s visit created anxiety among the party leaders following his recent alleged declaration of plans to step into the leadership shoes of the former Minister of Internal Affairs, Chief Sunday Afolabi.
Omisore, who arrived the secretariat at about 1.10pm, was initially received by the Deputy National Chairman (South) of the party, Alhaji Shuaib Oyedokun.
As Omisore was about to be received by Ogbeh and members of the National Working Committee, there was a call for the party leadership by Vice-President Atiku Abubakar.
As at 5pm, it was learnt that the secret talks with Omisore was still in progress.
A source however said, �We anticipated that the visit would be nothing than a thank you visit.�
�You will recall that it was hectic fielding Omisore for the Senatorial election. The party leadership was confused on the legality of making a murder suspect its candidate.
�His nomination also drew a lot of criticisms for the party but PDP is vindicated in the end,� he added.
The outcome of the meeting between Omisore and NWC was unknown as at the time of filing this report.
The PUNCH, June 30, 2004
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