I congratulate Governor Seriake Dickson and his reconciliation team on the marvelous breakthrough they have achieved in their reconciliation assignment. The news does actually get better every day as we receive reports of their efforts on a daily basis.
At a time it seemed that certain forces in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had written off the efforts of the Committee as having been overtaken by events, Governor Dickson held on to his mission as a truly impartial mediator. A team seeking to achieve peace between different factions in a disagreement would be shooting itself in the foot if, by any of its actions, it shows itself to be loyal or submissive to any of the factions.
Governor Dickson has shown great maturity in trying to navigate through the rather complicated turns that the disagreement seems to throw up every now and then. The latest was the Appeal Court judgment in favour of Ali Modu Sheriff’s faction. With the clear vision of a statesman required of the assignment given him, while respecting the judgment by submitting his report to the one who the court has declared to be the authentic chairman, he did not lose sight of the fact that there are other very important stakeholders in the party, hence, he also submitted the report to the Makarfi-led faction, as well as the BOT and other prominent members of the party, including former President Goodluck Jonathan.
By this action, he has made sure that all the factions and parties in the dispute are on the same page considering different options for peace, which we assume is the fervent wish of every member of this party.
Let’s face the truth, the only possible hope of the All Progressives Congress (APC) getting re-elected in 2019 is if the PDP remains in turmoil. It will, therefore, not be a surprise if the APC surreptitiously does all it can to ensure that the problem within the PDP is not resolved.
Don Cookey is former member, Constituent Assembly and gubernatorial candidate in Rivers State