Sen. Ahmed Makarfi, Chairman, National Caretaker Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has warned PDP members against dragging the party to court.
Makarfi, who gave the warning on Wednesday in Abuja, while inaugurating caretaker committees for Adamawa and Osun States chapters of the party, declared that members with grievances must exhaust internal mechanisms.
“It is unfortunate that some people still think that going to court is the best way out, even after the Supreme Court’s judgement on the party’s leadership tussle.
“The party will take a very hard stand on any member who is in a hurry to go to court without exhausting the avenues available in the party for grievances to be heard and be addressed accordingly.
“We cannot deny people their fundamental human rights, but the party constitution says that members must exhaust the internal mechanism before seeking external solutions.
“If you are quick in seeking external solutions, the party will not take it kindly,” Makarfi warned.
He commended PDP members, especially where caretaker committees were inaugurated, for their “give and take” posture and sacrifice, and assured party faithfuls that their interests would be accommodated at various levels.
Makarfi advised the newly inaugurated caretaker committees members to carry everybody along, pointing out that PDP was one family.
“At this stage, it is not one side versus the other side. The only side that is against us is anybody that takes us to court; it is that person or group that is clearly against us,” he said.
Makarfi, in an interview with newsmen after the inauguration ceremony, decried the politicisation of reports that Nigeria was out of recession.
“The issue should not be politicised; getting out of recession is when people feel secured and can feed and find jobs.
“We can only say we are out of recession when there is adequate infrastructure and students do not find it difficult to pay tuition fees.
“The reality is that, all these complaints are still there. Life is still tough for the poor man. So why should we be clapping and claiming that we are out of recession?
“It is not time to clap. We have nothing to clap for. We have a lot to do. That is what PDP intends to correct when we come to power.
“What we are doing now is to partner with those in power to make sure that the conditions of every Nigerian, especially the ordinary person, is better. We won’t politicise that.”
The Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS) second quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) report as indicating that the country was out of recession.
On the strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Makarfi called on both parties to make peace and specifically advised the Federal Government to do the needful.
Similarly, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Dayo Adeyeye, in a statement, said that the figures of growth rate released by NBS, when compared with inflation rate and population growth, showed that there was nothing to celebrate.
“The report indicated that while the inflation rate was 16.05 per cent, the annual population growth rate was approximately 2.67 per cent per year.
“With such statistics, it is impossible to escape the conclusion that the recovery of the Nigerian economy is weak, feeble and insufficient to herald the sort of celebration we want to indulge in,” he said.
Adeyeye reiterated that the nation was at risk of falling into a more protracted recession if strong and bold monetary and fiscal policies were not activated immediately, to sustain the exit from recession.
He added that there was nothing to celebrate until such economic growth improves the harsh living conditions of ordinary Nigerians.