Obasanjo Withdraws From Old and New PDP Peace Moves

Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo has backed out of the move to end the raging crisis in the ruling PDP as it became obvious the Presidency and the leadership of the G-7 governors have failed to honour the peace terms reached by all the stakeholders in Abuja.

"From all indications, both the presidency with the party leadership and the seven governors are not ready and willing to embrace peace. They are poised to fight to the end but this would never help the party. The party elders have done their best by intervening in the dispute, but the two camps are not listening, and so the likes of Obasanjo have given up."

Obasanjo and other leaders had mobilised former PDP chairmen including Barnabas Gemade, Ahmadu Ali and the chairman, Board of Trustees of the party, to wade in the feud between President Goodluck Jonathan and the seven aggrieved governors caused by the bid by the president to contest in 2015.

They met with the warring factions and appealed to them to sheathe their swords, an appeal the parties have failed to honour.

According to sources close to the former leader, in the mediation effort, Obasanjo told the presidency and the governors to allow the interest of the party to prevail because “no sacrifice is too much for them to make for peace to return to the party”.

Also, President Jonathan was told that he shouldn't have made a promise to the Northern governors to allow him complete Yar'Adua's tenure of another four years, if he knew he wasn't ready to keep his promise.

Obasanjo is unhappy with the dimension the crisis had taken and “foresees a problem for the party in 2015”.