TheCable

Kawu Baraje, a leader of the new Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP), says the group is ready to return to the negotiation table with All Progressives Congress (APC) if the party provides a “welcoming environment”.

Last week, nPDP pulled out of a planned meeting with Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo in protest of the withdrawal of security aides of Senate President Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara, speaker of the house of representatives.

Saraki and Dogara are members of nPDP, a faction of the ruling party that left the PDP in 2013 to team up with APC for the 2015 elections.

In May, the group had written John Oyegun, national chairman of APC, listing several grievances and demanding an emergency meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari.

They complained that despite the role they played in bringing APC to power in 2015, they had been neglected in the scheme of things by the administration.

Speaking during a programme on Televisison Continental (TVC), Baraje said they wrote the letter because they were ready for peace talks.

He added that if the party decided to act otherwise and “call our bluff”, the nPDP will then take a decision.

He, however, did not state what the decision will be.

“We are ready to go back for peace talks. If we were not ready, we wouldn’t have raised that letter. For us to go back, the environment must be welcoming,” Baraje said.

“Anytime the environment returns to normal, we are ready to go back but the earlier the better because the party really does not have the luxury of time if it wants to win the 2019 elections.

“If they call our bluff, we will go back and take a decision. Baraje is just providing leadership for the group. Let the APC call our bluff first then we will go back to the people who sent us and they will take a decision.

“If you represent a group and the interest of that group is not being taken care of, you would have to look for a place where you will be catered for.

“Every individual has aspirations; if your aspiration will not be taken care of in a particular space, you have to change base. As far as the nPDP is concerned, we want to go into any group where there will be good governance.”