A Chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and an Aspirant to the office of the National Chairman of the Party, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, on Wednesday explained his roles in the formation of a new Political Party, the All Peoples Democratic Aliance (APDA) as alternative platform for stakeholders in the PDP at the heat of its leadership l crisis.
Speaking with Newsmen in Abuja yesterday on the development, Dokposi stated that the then Ahmed Makarfi faction having been threatened by the Ali Modu Sheriff camp saw the need to get an alternative platform in case the Supreme Court Judgment went against it.
According to him “I take full responsibility for the roles I played in the formation and funding of APDA. It was set up as a plan B for the PDP at the peak of its internal crisis.
“Interestingly, 99 percent of persons who formed APDA belonged to the then Makarfi faction of the PDP”.
Dokpesi further disclosed that all organs of the PDP including the Board of Trustees, Governors’ Forum, and National Assembly Caucus were very much involved in the formation of the new Party.
According to him. “We did not want to take chances. Our genuine members were being deprived opportunity to contest as Sheriff kept shutting the door against them
“So there grew the urgent need for an alternative platform through which our ordinary members could run elections as councilors and local government chairmen. We cannot fold our arms and simply watch on
“It was not done by me alone. All the organs of the party were part of the decision to form APDA
“At a point I wrote to all party governors to tell them that there is need for members of the party to know”
He described as shocking attempts by some senior PDP members to use his link to APDA to blackmail him.
On whether his roles in the formation and funding of APDA would adversely affect his ambition, Dokpesi stated that the court ruling had already cleared him when it noted that there was nothing on record to link him officially to APDA.
Dokpesi who said his ambition to be the national chairman of the PDP remained strong pointed out that his trial by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has no effect on his aspiration because he has not been convicted.
He dismissed as untrue, the impression that the position of the national chairman of the PDP has been reserved for the South West Geo-Political zone.
According to him, “the National Convention of the Party in Port-Harcourt zoned the position of the national chairman to the South and zoned the Presidency to the North.
“And there is no micro zoning; the convention would have said it is zoning to the South West, but the convention in its wisdom did not do so”.