Pics from the PDP convention where Atiku & 7 governors pulled out

These are photos from the PDP
convention that took place in Abuja
yesterday where former VP Atiku
Abubakar and seven other governors
pulled out to form a faction of the party.
See more photos from the convention
and a statement from Atiku's PDP
chairman explaining why they pulled
out from GEJ's PDP...after the cut...
Why We Are Taking Over From Tukur,
Factional Chairman of the PDP,
Abubakar Baraje explains..
“We address you today as leaders
of PDP, who are worried by the
increasing repression, restrictions
of freedom of association,
arbitrary suspension of members
and other such violations of
democratic principles by a faction
of our party led by Alhaji
Bamanga Tukur.
While we have done everything
humanly possible to bring to the
attention of critical stakeholders
within the party the dangers
inherent in the course being
charted by that leadership, it has
become very clear that the
desperate permutations towards
2015 general elections have
blinded certain people from the
consequences of their actions.
Not only has the constitution of
the party been serially  abused by
Alhaji Tukur and his fellow
travelers, all the organs of the
party have been rendered virtually
ineffectual by a few people who
act as though above the law.
Unfortunately, it is obvious that
that they get encouragement from
the presidency whose old
calculations are geared towards
shutting out any real or imagined
opposition ahead of the party’s
presidential primaries for the
2015 elections.
As leaders of our great party, we
consider it a sacred responsibility
to save the PDP from the antics of
a few desperadoes who have no
democratic temperament and are
therefore bent on hijacking the
party for selfish ends. While the
list of their violations of the tenets
of our great party is long, we will
highlight just a few:
The National Executive Committee
of the PDP at its belated meeting
of 20 June 2013 approved 20
July2013 for the conduct of a
special national convention.
However, that date was changed
to August 31 without reverting to
NEC (the only authority vested
with such powers) by a few
people, apparently acting on the
authority of the presidency.
Notwithstanding the fact that INEC
had noted that the PDP
congresses in nine states were
not properly conducted, the illegal
delegates from such states are
being paraded at the so-called
convention being held today in a
cynical attempt to circumvent the
law and further bring the name of
the party to disrepute.
In gross violation of the PDP
constitution which stipulates that
the NEC meeting must hold at
least once in a quarter, Alhaji
Bamanga Tukur and a few people
have been running the party like a
personal fiefdom without recourse
to that important decision-making
organ of the party.
The NEC of the party accepted the
resignation of the former
members of the NWC whose
offices were affected by INEC
observations based principally on
the agreement that the affected
officers would be returned to their
respective offices at the
convention. However, against the
decision of the NEC. And in a not-
so-clever bid to exclude some
perceived opponents of the few
powerful members who are trying
to hijack the party, these positions
have been made Open to some
Yes-men within the party.
Notwithstanding INEC instance
that Senator Any Uba is the duly
elected candidate of the party in
Anambra State and against the
background that he is so
recognized by majority of our
party members, the Bamanga
Tukur-led Executives announced a
purported suspension of Senator
Uba and some other members
close to him in defiance of
subsisting court orders.
Despite that the PDP Constitution
is very clear that the state chapter
of the party cannot discipline a
national officer, the Deputy
National Chairman, Mr. Sam Jaja,
has reportedly been dismissed by
some renegades who have
hijacked the Rivers State chapter
of our party with the connivance
of the Bamanga Tukur leadership.
The persistent change in the list of
the party’s delegates in many
states as part of a deliberate
attempt to rig the party’s
nomination of candidates,
especially at the presidential and
gubernatorial levels, with a view
to foisting on the PDP some
unpopular candidates who are
bound to lose at the polls. The
suspension without due process of
the Governors of Rivers and
Sokoto states. Even when the
illegal suspension on Sokoto State
Governor has been lifted, the
Rivers Governor remains
purportedly suspended for no just
cause.
The illegal dissolution of the
Adamawa State chapter of the
party is a clear abuse of power by
Alhaji Bamanga Tukur thus
causing confusion in his home
state.
Given the foregoing, it is very
clear that the Bamanga Tukur
leadership cannot guarantee for
our millions of party members
democracy anchored on free
choice and the rule of law. We
have therefore taken it upon
ourselves to rescue the party from
their dictatorial leadership.
It is indeed noteworthy that from
1999 to date, Nigerians have
constantly voted the presidential
candidates presented by our great
party but not only dies such trust
come wig enormous
responsibility, we recognize that
we cannot continue to take the
people f granted.
From now, the new leadership of
the party under us will strive to
build a fairer as well as a more
transparent and accountable PDP
that will putty interest of members
and indeed all the people of
Nigeria above that of one single
individual.
For all the members of our great
party who may have become
disillusioned by the anti-
democratic tendencies of the
Bamanga Tukur’s leadership,
there is a new lease of life in the
horizon. It’s a new day for the
Peoples Democratic Party.
As we take over the leadership of
the PDP, our immediate priority is
to revive the culture of robust
debate of all contending issues
while providing a level-playing
field for all our members. These
were the ideals that differentiated
our party from others and
endeared us to Nigerians.
We are not, and have never been
a political party where one man
would be taking decisions for all
members and where once you do
not kowtow before the presidency,
you are deemed a rebel that must
be crushed. That is not the PDP
bequeathed to us by our founding
fathers. That, I dare say, is no
longer what PDP under our
leadership will represent from
today.