PDP will bounce back, says Jonathan

Former President Goodluck Jonathan says the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will come out of its crisis stronger.

Jonathan expressed the optimism at his country home in Otuoke, Bayelsa state, when he received the report of the reconciliation committee led by Seriake Dickson, governor of Bayelsa.

He said resorting to courts for political disagreements was abnormal.

He applauded the committee for getting the two factions of the party to the negotiating table and added that a truce was in sight given the commitments so far given by the party faithful.

“I have always believed that political differences should be resolved outside the courts, but unfortunately we are already involved with it and gone up to the supreme court, but we are hopeful of a political solution,” he said.

“Party politics is supposed to be a family affair and ought to be resolved amicably without resorting to the courts.”

Dickson said he accepted the challenge of rebuilding the PDP to express gratitude to the party that gave Bayelsa the platform to lead Nigeria through Jonathan.

He said political option remained the best way of resolving the crisis within the party.

The governor said Jonathan laid the foundations for a political solution when he convened a meeting of PDP governors a few weeks ago that approved the peace plan.

He said the report, which is a roadmap to achieving peace, was open to review and urged stakeholders with ideas to rebuild the party to table such ideas for discussion.

Speaking earlier, Mohammed Gana, a member of the reconciliation committee, said Jonathan epitomised peace in the way he conceded defeat at the last general election.

Gana applauded Jonathan for his efforts at rebuilding the party and urged party loyalists to support the efforts of the reconciliation committee.