The political associates of Shehu Musa Yar’Adua have resisted the directive of the All Progressive Congress (APC) chieftain and former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, that the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) as a political party should collapse its entire machinery into the APC.
It was reliably gathered that Yar’Adua’s political associates that eventually formed the PDM, in refusing to collapse the party into the APC, would commence a manual registration of members on Monday March 17.
THISDAY was informed that the decision to call the bluff was because of the refusal of Atiku, on the advice of the top echelon of the APC, to grant them financial succour that would enable the Yar’Adua associates commence manual registration of members.
Inside PDM top sources told THISDAY that Atiku had promised that he would fund the PDM registration of members, when the former vice president was informed that the Yar’adua associates was able to register three million members online.
According to a source, “when we approached him and convinced him on the need for financial support since we have registered over three million Nigerians online, the former vice president agreed to sponsor the manual registration.
“So when we presented our budget, he asked us to scale it down, as it was on the high side, but when we represented the budget a second time, he bluntly refused to release any money for us. To this, members were not happy, feeling a sense of betrayal to Atiku who along the way has been encouraging us, both morally and financially,” the source said.
The top member of the PDM said when they asked why the change of mind, after initial hope of releasing funding to the PDM, he said, “my new political associates advised against the release of the money, rather preferring that the PDM should collapse its machinery into the APC.”
According to the source, “It was the belief that non release of funds to commence the manual registration of members would eventually force the PDM to collapse its machinery into the APC that warranted a statement in late January that the PDM had joined the APC.
“But a strong rejoinder from the National Working Committee of the PDM sent the signal to Atiku and the APC that not releasing the funding would not stop the activities of the Yar’Adua political associates”, the source said, explaining that instead of waiting for Atiku’s money that was not forthcoming, “we sourced the funds elsewhere”.
Accordingly, the PDM source said, “with alternate funding, we will commence manual registration on Monday March 17”.
THISDAY gathered that as much as PDM was unwilling to disclose the source of its funding, the Presidency is said to have commence wooing of the Yar’Adua political associates, with the belief that the young members of PDM who are considered as the ‘Young Turks’ in the north could stand as a counter poise to the growing anti-PDP stance as championed by the APC in the north.
The source said, “the Yar’Adua political associates that formed the PDM are in close contact with the Presidency and it is the Presidency’s belief that since Atiku has refused to finance them, that it is a good opportunity for the PDM to be used to counter the APC.” Thisday
