From Austin Ajayi, Yola
The Adamawa state Police command at the weekend deployed armoured vehicle with several officers to barricade the entrance to a hotel, scheduled to host a meeting of a faction of the PDP in the state, the Reformed Peoples Democratic Party (r-PDP).
The meeting which was at the instance of some aggrieved members of PDP could not hold as the police stopped people from going in the venue belonging to an APC member.
The group later met at the home of one of the aggrieved PDP member and leader of the faction, Umar Ardo.
Ardo, a former political adviser to Atiku Abubakar was inaugurated the leader of the Reformed Peoples Democratic Party ( r-PDP).
Umar Ardo, while addressing journalists at the end of the meeting, said they broke out to form a faction within the party called the Reformed Peoples Democratic Party (r-PDP) in order to restore dignity and entrench internal and participatory democracy in the party.
“We stopped recognising the Peoples Democratic Party leadership of Adamawa state chapter of the party under Tahir Shehu for being unfair, unjust and for its unconstitutional activities”.
He noted that the party in the state was illegally composed and a large number of the officials at both state and local government levels have either left the party or vacated their office but wondered why the party leadership continues to run the party in that manner knowing that it is against the party’s constitution.
“Our party in the state, PDP has been turned into an unjust and unfair political party, with deceit, no compassion in its heart, no sincerity in its purpose and its action have become intrinsically self-serving and deceitful.
“We have henceforth initiated a movement within the PDP to reform the current unhealthy state of the party in the state”.
“The reform initiative has a 12-member interim executive for the state, 7-member each from the local governments and 5-member each from the wards and these interim committees will be headed by Hammanjoda Jauro Gire, a veteran party politician of repute.”
Reacting to this development in the party, in a telephone interview, the state chairman of the party, Tahir Shehu said, Umar Ardo is a hired hand sent to destabilise the party in Adamawa state, noting however that he would fail.
“His constituency had officially written a complain to the party about his actions and proper official channel was followed to dismiss him from the party.
Also explaining its reason for barricading the venue of the group’s meeting, the PPRO, Adamawa state Police command, Suleiman Nguroje said, “The group Reformed Peoples Democratic Party wrote us requesting for security for their event, we did our job and confirmed that the group was not a registered political party.
“In order to prevent public unrest, we had to stop the meeting from holding, even though it is a hotel because people uses the place, so to an extent, it is a public place”
