From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa

Governor of Bayelsa State and Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Reconciliation Committee, Seriake Dickson, yesterday took a decisive step towards peace in the troubled party by presenting his committee’s report to the Ahmed Makarfi’s National Caretaker Committee. He also presented the report to the PDP caucus in the National Assembly.

This is coming days after he presented the same report to the PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Ali Modu Sheriff, an action which attracted criticism from the Makarfi group.

Dickson, who was accompanied by the deputy chairman of the committee, Alhaji Ibrahim Mantu, and other members, asked for more inputs into the report, as, according to him, the committee’s mission was to achieve peace.

He reiterated his position that the report of his committee, which seeks to restore peace and cohesion to the party, was not cast in stone, stressing that it could always be improved upon by the appropriate organs of the party.

The governor assured members of the National Caretaker Committee that the reconciliation team  would meet with other key organs of the party to present the template for lasting peace in the PDP.

“All officials of the PDP at the state and zonal levels elected before the May 21 botched Port Harcourt election convention remain valid. My committee will also meet with other key organs of the party to present the template. But let me add that this report is not cast in stone,” Dickson said.  A close aide of Dickson, who craved anonymity, said events of the last few days, since Dickson submitted his report, had rekindled his determination to ensure that peace returned to the PDP.

According to him, Dickson, as chairman of the committee, believes no sacrifice was too much to make and no group too small to reach  in the onerous task to rebuild the PDP and salvage Nigeria from the grip of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Dickson has also met with the PDP National Assembly caucus, led by the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, where he also presented his committee’s report.

In their response, members of the National Assembly caucus have given conditions  before they could support  Sheriff.

The lawmakers, who spoke through the Senate and House of Representatives PDP caucus leaders, Godswill Akpabio and Leo Ogor respectively, said, they were willing to give peace a chance if Sheriff-led faction abide by the agreement reached with the Dickson’s committee.

Ogor said they were ready to accept any peace initiative as long as all organs of the party  agree on the template and also willing to abide by every agreement reached.

“I am happy that this initiative is yielding the desired results. We are not opposed to peace in the party. Nigerians are yearning for a change and only the PDP can guarantee that. We are willing to sacrifice our personal interest in the overall interest of the party,” Ogor said.

Senator Akpabio, who aligned with the position of Ogor, said the PDP could still wrest power from the APC in 2019, if the current crisis was resolved.

He said the PDP caucus in the Senate would study the contents of the report and come up with its own position.

Ekweremadu, who formally accepted a copy of the report, on behalf of PDP National Assembly caucus, hailed Dickson and added that the crisis in the party would soon be over.

Ekweremadu said: “I want to commend the efforts of Governor Dickson-led peace committee. With this report, we are on our way out of the crisis. I call on the different organs of the party to key into this report and ensure that we solve our problems.

“In the United States of America, the Republican Party was in crisis when it went ahead to win the presidential election. It also won majority seats in the Senate and in the House of Representatives. PDP will win in 2019 and there is no doubt about that.”

Meanwhile, Sheriff has told Makarfi to mind his business and stop talking about him.

Speaking yesterday while receiving some PDP members from Zamfara State, he said Makarfi became governor of Kaduna State for two terms because “it is the will of God; he is never better than every other person.”

According to him, “whenever people lack confidence in themselves, they don’t believe in the will of God. I want to sincerely request Makarfi to watch his words. I don’t believe that anyone of us here has the powers of God.”

Sheriff said the problem in the PDP came about because people at the grassroots had been denied a say in the choice of their leaders.