A former Governor of Abia State, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu, has praised the leadership of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for its decision to recall Governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Aliyu Wamakko, who was suspended from the party on June 5.

Kalu, a foundation member of the PDP, said this morning that the decision showed that the leadership of the party was a listening one.

He particularly praised the National Chairman of the party, Dr. Bamanga Tukur, and other members of the National Working Committee for such magnanimity.

“What the party has shown by this decision is that it cannot only bark but also bite. And by also rescinding the decision to suspend the amiable governor, the party shows it equally has the large heart to forgive trespasses,” the former governor said in a statement issued by his Special Adviser, Oyekunle Oyewumi.

He commended the roles played by the Akwa Ibom State Governor and Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum, Barrister Godswill Akpabio, in getting the suspension lifted.

Kalu described the move by Akpabio and his colleagues as a masterstroke and a huge step towards ensuring the party forged a united front ahead of the 2015 general election.

He appealed to the leadership of the PDP to also intervene in the crisis rocking the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF). He said though the NGF is a larger body that includes governors elected on the platform of other parties, the intervention of the PDP is necessary because the two men contending for the leadership of the Forum – Governors Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State and Jonah Jang of Plateau State – are members of the PDP.

“The PDP needs all hands to be on deck to ensure total victory in the 2015 polls. So no effort should be spared to achieve this,” the ex-governor stated.

•Photo: Orji Kalu.