Former First Lady Dame Patience Jonathan and key members of her political camp were absent on Tuesday night at a meeting former President Goodluck Jonathan convened to resolve the crisis rocking the Bayelsa State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
It was gathered that Mrs Jonathan’s key loyalists were not at the parley, which took place at the former President’s palatial home in Otuoke, Ogbia Local Government Area.
The party is polarised into two factions.
One supports the second term ambition of Governor Seriake Dickson; the other pledged loyalty to Mrs. Jonathan, with a mission to stop the governor.
The crisis worsened recently, following the suspension of key loyalists of the former President and his wife from the PDP for alleged anti-party activities.
The State PDP is also faced with a leadership crisis with its suspended Chairman, Col. SamInokoba (rtd.) still parading himself as the authentic chairman and his deputy claiming to be the acting chairman.
Mrs. Jonathan is said to be “relaxing” in London. Most of her associates were said to have refused to attend Jonathan’s fence-mending meeting because of Dickson’s presence.
Inokoba; a former deputy governor and state Chairman of the Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN), Werinipre Seibarugu; former Acting Governor Nestor Binabo and other aggrieved members were not at the meeting.
But most members in Dickson’s camp and elders supporting his second term bid attended the parley.
Most of the elders were said to have argued that party members should unite and work with Dickson to contain the overtures of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The elders were said to have vowed not to allow the APC to “disgrace” Jonathan a second time, after sending him out of Aso Rock Villa in the March 28 election.
For the PDP to retain the state in 2016, some of the elders reportedly insisted that the aggrieved members must support Jonathan and Dickson.
It was learnt that the elders decried the attitude of some people close to the former President in Abuja, especially those nursing governorship ambition.
They were said to have regretted that such people used their offices to undermine Dickson and the PDP, alleging that some of them even built parallel governments to fight the governor and the party.
Jonathan was said to have constituted a three-man committee, headed by former Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, to reconcile aggrieved groups and individuals.
The committee was asked to ensure a united and a more cohesive PDP that will be strong enough to subdue the opposition.
The committee, which has King A. J. Turner and Chief Thompson K. Okorotie as members, was given two weeks to complete its assignment and submit a report.
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