Notable members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the House of Representatives on Wednesday applauded the verdict of the Supreme Court which declared Ahmed Makarfi as the authentic chairman of the leading opposition party.
The lawmakers who applauded the ruling, argued that the restoration of Makarfi as PDP authentic leader will bring about cohesion and create a formidable opposition for the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC).
For Tajudeen Yusuf (PDP-Kogi), the victory is not only for Nigerians, but for Nigeria’s democracy and will bring about eventual victory for PDP to unseat APC in the 2019 general elections.
“With this, I would say we have learnt our lessons, we must acknowledge the fact that it was a self inflicted injury but thank God, Supreme Court has saved Nigerian democracy. It was not PDP that was saved but our democracy.
“This is a victory for the Nigerian people so we should learn and ask ourselves, how did I we get here. If we continue to go round in circles, we will not make progress. If we don’t learn from this, we will not go forward.
“As it is now Nigerians have alternative. PFP coming alive is a good step because I can bet you that if the last regime was bad, this is ugly,” he said.
On his part, Chukwuma Onyema, Deputy Minority Leader urged all the aggrieved PDP members to reconcile in order to take Nigeria out of the woods and offer effective opposition.
According to him, “a country without a vibrant opposition is not healthy for its democracy”.
He also called on Nigerians to expect a vibrant and committed opposition, adding that the party would bounce back in 2019.
“For me, it is an impressive judgement, because any government without a vibrant opposition cannot succeed, if we had lost this matter,I don’t know what would have happens too democracy in this country.
“This has shown that the judiciary is the hope of the common man, those who left the party left because of their own ulterior motive. Concerning 2019, Nigerians should expect PDP to take over in 2019,” Onyema said.
In his remarks, Danladi Baido (PDP-Taraba), who expressed delight over the Supreme Court verdict, expressed optimism that PDP will emerge victorious in 2019.
“What ever has a beginning must have an end, the tussle was so stringent but today, it is over. I want to tell you that this judgment is not only for one faction but for both. I’m assuring Nigerians that we are fighting for a common course, there is no cause for alarm.
“What everyone taught was that PDP would disintegrate but I want to assure us that PDP would bounce back to power. We give are going to give a very good fight in 2019,” the Taraba lawmaker stressed.
Also speaking, Henry Nwabuwa (PDP-Imo) noted that the dispute within the PDP has been settled going by the outcome of the Supreme Court ruling.
He therefore urged all the PDP who strayed away to return back to their first live in order to provide Nigerians with good governance.
