We have read from some of the national dailies of the alleged summoning
of the PDP National Secretary, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola; nPDP National
Chairman, Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje, National Deputy Chairman, Dr.
Sam Sam Jaja, and the National Vice-Chairman, North West, Ambassador
Ibrahim Kazaure, by the PDP Disciplinary Committee said to be headed by
Second Republic Minister, Alhaji Umaru Dikko.
Our initial reaction was to ignore these reports since the PDP
Constitution does not recognize the existence of the so-called Dikko
Committee as due process was not followed in its establishment. Besides,
the fact that the committee – if at all it exists – did not have the
courtesy to directly invite the accused to appear before it strips it of
any atom of seriousness.
Even so, we have decided to react to the reports dust to enquiries by
the media. For the avoidance of doubt, the New PDP wishes to state
unequivocally that neither the aforesaid leaders nor any other nPDP
member for that matter will appear before the Dikko Committee either
next week Wednesday, November 27, or at any other date for that matter.
The committee is an illegality and alien to PDP and its members. It is
not our intention to confer legitimacy on such an illegal contraption by
self-serving politicians intent on destroying a house the building of
which they were not a part.
As clearly spelt out in the PDP Constitution, the Disciplinary Committee
can only be operational when the National Executive Committee (NEC) of
PDP sits and approves it. In the absence of any such approval by the PDP
NEC, whatever function the committee is deemed to be performing is null
and void. In other words, asking great personalities such as Alhaji
Baraje, Prince Oyinlola, Dr. Jaja and Ambassador Kazaure to appear
before the Dikko Committee is an insult and an attempt to past through
the back door to confer undeserved creditability on this illegal
contraption.
It is unfortunate that factional PDP Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, has
succeeded in reducing the party to such a lowly level where due process
is now alien to the party’s operations. Otherwise, how could these
great men whose contributions towards the growth of PDP cannot be
questioned be invited through the pages of the newspapers?
We have a lot of respect for Alhaji Umaru Dikko as a person. That
notwithstanding, we must observe that it is sad that Dikko should accept
such an unholy task just because Alhaji Bamanga Tukur feels like using
the appointment to thank him for helping him secure the gubernatorial
ticket of the defunct Gongola State during their days in the defunct
NPN. As the National Chairman of United Democratic Party UDP, Dikko
should have known that he cannot jump ship to chair an illegal body in
PDP as if we lack credible people that can perform this task without
creating problems for the party.
We challenge the Dikko Committee to prove its seriousness by starting
with the trial on Tukur and his cohorts for anti-party activities,
specifically as displayed during last weekend’s gubernatorial election
in Anambara State, instead of supporting the PDP, they aligned with the
APGA candidate, Chief Willie Obiano, thereby making mockery of the
efforts of Comrade Tony Nwoye.
To achieve its objective of ensuring that the APGA candidate wins the
election, Tukur and his strategists employed divisive politics to ensure
that PDP did not have a candidate until a few days to the election and
went into the crucial poll heavily factionalised. To further strengthen
the unholy plot, Tukur imposed Comrade Tony Nwoye as the party’s
candidate over and above better qualified candidates and in defiance of
the Independent National Electoral Commission, which did not recognize
Nwoye until the Supreme Court forced the Commission to put his name on
the ballot.
Tukur and his promoters of the Anambra election have demonstrated enough
disdain and hatred for the progress of PDP as a party and this is very
unfortunate and sad. According to facts, this was done in order for APGA
to adopt President Jonathan as its presidential standard-bearer come
2015. The committee should investigate this show of shame and discipline
Tukur and all those involved in this wicked act against a party which
they are in a hurry to destroy even when they cannot tell the story of
how it was formed.
Sadly, the loss of Anambra adds to the woes of the PDP under Tukur’s
watch. Before now, the party had also lost Edo and five out of the six
South-West states as well as some states in the North.
It does not require a soothsayer to see that PDP, which is bleeding to
death under Tukur’s unpopular leadership, is doomed if it continues to
antagonise the G7 Governors and their followers in the nPDP. This will
inevitably climax with the loss of the 2015 presidential election, by
which time it would be too late to remedy the damage which Tukur has
already done to a party which before his imposition used to be the pride
of African politics.
We once more wish to appeal to the PDP National Leader, President
Goodluck Jonathan, the Party Elders and other Leaders of the party to
rise to the occasion and ease out Tukur and his National Working
Committee so as to pave the way for the enthronement of a competent and
focused leadership. This is the only way to rescue the PDP from imminent
death. As the adage rightly says: A stitch in time saves nine!
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