PLATEAU State governor Jonah Jang looks set for a showdown with the leadership of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) after he shunned a delegation of reconciliators sent to Jos to try and reconcile the governor and his old political foes.

With the 2015 elections around the corner, several former PDP members who has left the party are now keen to return and stand as candidates in the poll. Among them are former governor Joshua Dariye, former Federal Capital Territory minister, Jeremiah Useni, and former deputy governor of Pauline Tallen.

Along with several others the trio had written to the national secretariat to indicate their willingness to return to the party but before this can happen, they need to be reconciled with the governor. To facilitate this, the PDP set up a 15-man reconciliation committee for the north-central zone led by a former defence minister Mohammed Bello and asked it to mediate. After visiting Kwara State, the committee flew into Jos and made attempts to meet with Governor Jang but he refused to meet with the delegation.

PLATEAU State governor Jonah Jang looks set for a showdown with the leadership of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) after he shunned a delegation of reconciliators sent to Jos to try and reconcile the governor and his old political foes.

With the 2015 elections around the corner, several former PDP members who has left the party are now keen to return and stand as candidates in the poll. Among them are former governor Joshua Dariye, former Federal Capital Territory minister, Jeremiah Useni, and former deputy governor of Pauline Tallen.

Along with several others the trio had written to the national secretariat to indicate their willingness to return to the party but before this can happen, they need to be reconciled with the governor. To facilitate this, the PDP set up a 15-man reconciliation committee for the north-central zone led by a former defence minister Mohammed Bello and asked it to mediate. After visiting Kwara State, the committee flew into Jos and made attempts to meet with Governor Jang but he refused to meet with the delegation.

Apparently, Governor Jang had insisted that he was not ready to receive anybody until the conclusion of the party primaries in the state. Eventually, the reconciliation committee got Raymond Dabo, the acting chairman of the Plateau State chapter of the PDP to pass a message on to the governor. After receiving a curt response the PDP’s national secretariat now fears that the governor is blocking all avenues to reconciling all aggrieved members of the party in the state. According to one party source, in view of the development, the national secretariat was considering some measures to ensure that the PDP remained intact for the 2015 general elections. Among the measures being considered, was the reconstitution of a new executive that would be neutral enough to see to the conclusion of the state primaries. “As far as the party is concerned, we have tried to bring everybody on board and would not be happy to see anybody blocking these efforts. The party primary is so crucial and you are expected to bring everybody on board and it will not be a participatory democracy if some people with good intentions are shut out of the party,” the party source added. Mike Dachollom, the organising secretary of the party in the state, blamed the national leadership of the PDP for trying to divide the party in the state. He added that it was not the governor that shunned the committee but the party because it was not aware of the constitution of the committee nor its visit. Mr Dachollom, who is also the state chairman of the inter-party advisory committee, added that membership of the committee was suspect because it was

Mohammed Bello, who as the deputy national chairman introduced PDP One and Two along with ex-Governor Dariye and a few others. He pointed out that the party was not consulted when the committee was constituted. “What do you mean by reconciliation? You will be reconciling if you bring those who are full members and have one grievance or the other but in this case, Dariye, Useni and Tallen wrote a letter that they wanted to come back to the PDP after defecting to other parties. “If they are to rejoin the party there should be procedures. Also, the national secretariat did not communicate to the state about the visit of the committee,” Mr Dachollom added. He advised those wishing to join the party to go through their wards as demanded by the party constitution and not trying to use their influence to make the national secretariat to coerce the state chapter to allow them easy entry. According to Mr Dachollom, joining party is an individual thing and not through a union.

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Plateau State PDP split as Governor Jang blocks the return of Dariye, Tallen and Useni