PDP CRISIS - EDWIN CLARK BATTLES ANENIH

A major crack has occurred in the camp of
President Goodluck Jonathan as two of his
main backers in the south-south region
appear to have disagreed on the handling of
the festering crisis in the ruling Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP).
A pro-Jonathan group, Congress for Equality
and Change led by former federal
commissioner of information Chief Edwin
Clark, yesterday chided the chairman of the
PDP Board of Trustees, Chief Tony Anenih,
for admitting that some of the aggrieved
governors had genuine grievances.
Clark’s attack on Anenih came as Anenih
himself cautioned the national chairman of
the party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, against
making inflammatory statements that could
undermine the ongoing peace talks in the
party.
In a communiqué signed by the chairman of
the group, Senator Ameh Ebute, the group
told Anenih to “distance himself from the
demands of the so-called aggrieved
governors and join Alhaji Bamanga Tukur to
work for the party in truth and spirit”.
Anenih had on Tuesday admitted that some
of the complaints of the governors who have
been up in arms against both Tukur and
Jonathan were genuine.
As the pro-Jonathan camp appears to be
speaking in different tones, the Alhaji Kawu
Baraje camp has threatened that Tukur
could end up in jail.
The Clark group faulted some alleged
grievances expressed by the governors: “For
instance, the claim by the governors that
President Jonathan should award the
governors, their cronies and family
perpetual injunction from EFCC and police
prosecution against corruption,
embezzlement of public funds and criminal
enrichment is condemnable; we wonder how
the President could stop EFCC from
investigating people alleged to have engaged
in corruption.
“Also, the demand that the President should
renounce his 2015 presidential re-election
bid in spite of his eligibility to contest is very
condemnable. They insisted that the call for
Tukur’s resignation cannot be a thing that
someone should liken to a genuine
grievance.”