Anenih in secret meeting with Obasanjo

•Says ‘in 2015 we will do what we know how to do best’
•Party rules out rift with INEC over NWC
•Tukur sure of PDP’s victory in 32 states in 2015
IT was a meeting with a well-kept mission. But political stakeholders Monday linked it to how to boost the political fortune of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the 2015 general elections.
The meeting was between the PDP’s Board of Trustees (BoT) Chairman, Chief Tony Anenih and former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Anenih succeeded Obasanjo who resigned voluntarily as the BoT Chairman.
Anenih and his entourage arrived at Obasanjo’s Hill Top, Abeokuta residence at noon and held a three-and-half hours closed-door meeting with Obasanjo.
In Anenih’s entourage were Alhaji Sule Lamido, Jigawa State Governor; Alhaji Wali Juril, Secretary of the party’s National Working Committee; Ibrahim Shema, Katsina State Governor and Alhaji Ahmed Makarfi, former Kaduna State Governor.
Anenih who addressed journalists after the meeting stated: “I am here to see my leader (Obasanjo). I am here to pay my respect and indeed I am here with my colleagues, some members of the Board of Trustees of our party to discuss some issues that affect the corporate existence of this country.”
He added: “We discussed some issues about the insecurity of the country and some issues about the party itself. Those are the reasons we are here. My colleagues are all here, we are about eight of us.”
Questioned about the outcome of the meeting, Anenih said: “As you can see, we are all smiling, don’t you see me smiling? And my leader too is smiling. So, we are quite happy about the outcome. For now, it is not for public consumption.”
When asked whether the issues they discussed included the crisis within the party in the South-West and Ogun State, Anenih simply said: “Wait for results.”

The PDP boss was asked of his view on the proposed amnesty for Boko Haram and his answer was again simply: “You want us to discuss the issue of amnesty in public here? That is a security matter.”
On newspapers’ report that PDP is dead in Ogun State, Anenih said: “Let me tell you, almost all of us here are members of PDP in Ogun, some of you here are members of the party so you cannot say that PDP is dead in Ogun State.”
On PDP’s chances in the 2015 general elections, Anenih said:  “When the time comes, we will know. PDP is a party to beat. When the time comes, I assure we will do what we know how to do best.”
Meanwhile, the PDP yesterday dismissed as untrue, reports that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had decided not to have any dealing with its NWC and not to accept candidates from the party.
The secretary of the party, Olisa Metuh, said in a statement yesterday that “the report is totally false and is clearly part of the orchestrated media attack on our party, aimed at causing confusion and undermining the psyche of our members.
“Our investigations revealed that the said report did not in any way emanate from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) or any of its officials.”
Besides, how to win at least 32 states of the federation is central to the preparation of the PDP for the 2015 general elections, according to the National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur.
He asked party members to brace for this challenge by closing ranks and beginning immediate preparations, pointing out that this would relieve the party of undue pressure ahead of the election period.
Tukur, who made the call when a caucus of the party made up of 15 leaders from the South-West led by Prof. Taoheed Adedoja paid him a visit at his residence in Abuja, stated that the PDP would do everything possible to help realise the resolve by the government of President Goodluck Jonathan to conduct the most transparent elections in 2015.
He expressed delight that since the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) started conducting elections under President Jonathan, there had been consistent reports of transparency.
PDP members, Tukur stressed, must close ranks by working together for the purpose of delivering the presidential mandate of winning more states without cutting corners during any election, just to prove to the world that it had, indeed, been the party with the widest spread in Nigeria.
Tuku said:  “We need to work hard now because we have a presidential mandate to move beyond 23 states in our control and win at least 32. We have to show electoral strength this time. In doing it, we will work hard and work well. We will move with the speed of jet and we will deliver without any foul antics.
“I use this opportunity to appeal to our members to bury the hatchet and cast away whatever forlorn hope they nurse about the future. I appeal to our members to begin to invest in the future right away and doing so involves hard work, diligence and dedication to the cause of PDP.”
While appealing to elected members of the party across board to double their efforts in delivering the dividends of democracy to the ordinary Nigerians, the PDP Chairman said doing so would convince the electorate across the country that PDP remained the best performing party.
According to him, “the National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP has concluded plans to commence a state by state tour to ginger up members while intensifying the agenda of reconciliation, reformation and re-building of the party.”
Earlier, Adedoja who contested the 2011 governorship election in Oyo State lauded the PDP on its peace initiative and the ability by the chairman to rally different groups within the party for its progress, stating that he and other South-West members resolved to pay him a visit on the need for the party to address pertinent issues in the South-West PDP.