• Kwara chapter denies alleged hijack plot

POISED to ensure a more united political family, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said yesterday that its renewed commitment to issues of discipline and party loyalty would make it stronger.

Meanwhile, leaders of the party in Kwara State Sunday dismissed speculations that “some forces” in the presidency were planning to hijack the party’s structure in the state .

The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, in a statement in Abuja, asked party members not to panic about the wave of disciplinary measures being taken by the party’s  National Working Committee (NWC), pointing out that justice and fairness remained the party’s watchwords.

The party had in the last few weeks suspended Governors Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers State and Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko of Sokoto State over allegations of disrespect and disloyalty.

Metuh’s statement reads in part:”The PDP’s NWC hereby assures all members that the happenings in the party in the last few weeks are part of the processes of instilling discipline within the

party and not to witch-hunt any member whatsoever.

We assure that all the issues will be looked into and resolved amicably in line with the spirit of brotherliness and the guiding principles of our party.

“The PDP remains a strong, united and democratic family guided by the principles of equity, justice, rule of law and love for one another and will at the end of the day definitely come out stronger than ever before.”

It continued:”We therefore urge all members to close ranks and totally disregard suggestions from envious enemies of our family that some individuals or groups are being targeted for certain reasons.

A former governor of the state and senator representing Kwara North at the National Assembly, Alhaji Sha’aba Lafiagi described a newspaper publication (not The Guardian) to this effect as “absolutely untrue”.

Lafiagi who addressed reporters yesterday on the development was flanked by Alhaji Isiaka Oniwa, Alhaji S .O. Yusuf and Jimoh  Adesina, chairmen of PDP in Kwara North, South and Central districts respectively.

The three zonal chairmen of PDP in the state corroborated the views expressed by Senator Lafiagi.

Lafiagi added that “I do not believe that Prof. Shuaib Abdulraheem, the Federal Character Commission (FCC) chairman can be part of any plot to either hijack or polarise the PDP’s structure  in the state.

“All the insinuations in the newspapers I do not believe. I do not believe also that the PDP at the national level can do anything negative against its own in the state”.