PDP will bounce back —Jonathan

FORMER President Goodluck Jonathan has expressed confidence that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will resolve its crisis and become stronger again, just as he stresses the need to urgently return power to the people in the party.

Jonathan, who had championed the possibility of a political solution to the impasse in the party, argued that litigation had handed the mandate of the people to the judiciary.

Jonathan, while receiving the report of the Governor Seriake Dickson-led PDP reconciliation committee, at his country home, Otuoke, Bayelsa State, on Saturday, gave the assurance of PDP resurgence in not too distant future.

According to him, “resorting to courts for political disagreements was abnormal.”

He also commended the committee for getting the two factions of the party to the negotiating table and added that a truce was in sight given the commitments so far by the party faithful.

“I have always believed that political differences should be resolved outside the courts. But unfortunately, we are already involved with it and gone up to the Supreme Court. We are hopeful of a political solution.

“Party politics is supposed to be a family affair and ought to be resolved amicably without resorting to the courts,” Jonathan said.

In his reaction, Governor Dickson disclosed that he accepted the challenge of rebuilding the PDP and expressed gratitude to the party that gave Bayelsa the platform to lead Nigeria through Jonathan.

He said political option remained the best way of resolving the crisis within the party.

He noted that Jonathan laid the foundations for a political solution when he convened a meeting of PDP governors a few weeks ago that approved the peace plan.

He said the report, which is a roadmap to achieving peace, was open to review and urged stakeholders with ideas to rebuild the party to table such ideas for discussion.

Speaking earlier, a member of the reconciliation committee Mr Mohammed Gana, said Jonathan epitomised peace in the way he conceded defeat at the last general election, a development  that stabilised the country.