The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kaduna State has dismissed speculations of mass defections from its fold into the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
The PDP, instead, said its members are unflinchingly loyal to the party and its determination to wrest power from the All Progressives Congress (APC) at all levels.
These were part of resolutions reached at an expanded caucus meeting of the state chapter of the party held at ASAA Pyramid Hotel, Kaduna on Sunday.
The party stalwarts reaffirmed their commitment to the unity and progress of the PDP ahead of the critical by-elections in the state.
The chairman of the party in Kaduna, Sir Edward Percy Masha, who signed the communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, said the caucus resolved to distance the state chapter and its leaders from rumours suggesting they were plotting to dump the party.
The communique said party leaders passed an unconditional support for the current national leadership of the PDP, including the Board of Trustees and the PDP Governors’ Forum, lauding their ongoing efforts to convene a national elective convention to reposition the party.
The party further threw its weight behind possible alliances or strategic partnerships being explored by the PDP’s emerging national leadership after the proposed convention, aimed at dislodging the APC from power at the federal and state levels.
“As a party in Kaduna State, we are united, we are focused, and we have resolved to work harmoniously for the success of PDP candidates in the three constituencies where bye-elections are imminent, as well as in all future contests,” the communiqué read in part.
Party insiders who attended the meeting told The Nation that discussions also touched on consolidating the PDP’s grassroots structures to counter the APC’s influence and correct what they described as the ruling party’s “woeful governance failures” across Kaduna.
The expanded caucus meeting was attended by serving and former lawmakers, local government party chairmen, youth and women leaders, and other key stakeholders drawn from the three senatorial zones of the state.
With the state bye-elections around the corner, the PDP’s latest move signals its intent to close ranks, quash internal dissent, and present a united front to reclaim lost political grounds from the APC.
