The National Chairman of
the new Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP), Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje, has
requested all members of PDP worldwide to embark on seven days fasting and
prayers commencing from Monday, 16th of September, 2013.
The call for fasting and prayer
was contained in a news release signed by the new
PDP spokesperson, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka. According the release, “this spiritual
intervention is as a result of the concern of the Baraje-led PDP for the plight
of parents and our children due to the continued closure of public universities
following the strike by ASUU to
protest the Federal Government’s failure to keep the agreement it signed with
the Union in 2009”.
The complete text of the
statement reads:
“Muslims all over the nation
and abroad who are PDP members should close their fast by this Friday, 20th
of September, 2013, at their places of worship while the Christians should end
theirs on Sunday, 22nd September, 2013 at their places of worship.
It has become imperative
to seek the face of God over this matter considering that all efforts to
resolve this unwarranted strike have failed woefully and considering the
socio-economic damage this strike has caused both parents and our children. We
are confident that our resolve to go to God will succeed as the importance of
fasting and prayers cannot be over emphasized.
To say the least, we are
shocked that the government inflicting this monumental hardship on Nigerians is
a PDP Government popularly elected by majority of Nigerians and run by a
President who was once a University Lecturer. In this regard, we wish to plead
with Nigerians for forgiveness on behalf of the PDP Government at the centre,
which could have avoided this costly strike. We wish to assure all Nigerians
that as a party we will surely find a way to end this shameful situation.
Meanwhile, Alhaji Baraje
has set up a four-man Committee with His Excellency, Gov. Babangida Aliyu of
Niger State as Chairman to advise the party on the best way to get the Federal
Government’s Negotiating Committee and the leadership of ASUU to reach an
agreement on the issues at stake and thus end this three-month-old strike.
Other members of the Committee are His Excellency, Gov. Murtala Nyako of
Adamawa State, Hon. Chinwo Ike, President of UNIPORT Alumni, and Mr. Timi
Frank, the PDP National Youth Leader.
We sincerely solicit the
patience of Nigerians while appealing to both the Federal Government and the
leadership of ASUU to end this imbroglio so that our children may go back to
school instead of engaging in acts inimical to their future. The need for this
has become urgent as reports reaching us indicate that many of these students
have out of frustration and boredom turned to prostitution, armed robbery and
other vices due to the prolonged industrial action."
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