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UNDAUNTED and unfazed. Those were the words that could best describe the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday as it reacted to the torrents of criticisms that have been hurled at it by opposition political parties in recent weeks.
However, the criticisms continued yesterday with the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) upbraiding President Goodluck Jonathan for allegedly backing the Jonah Jang faction of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), against the Rivers State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi.
The PDP said yesterday that the opposition parties are not united by patriotism but by bitterness, frustration as well as ethnic and religious sentiments.
The ruling party also stated that the propaganda of the opposition parties notwithstanding, it would win the 2015 presidential elections and increase the number of states it governs.
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh the PDP said it welcomed the opposition to the electoral contest in 2015 but noted that they were already doomed to fail as Nigerians have since realised that they are merely “strange bed fellows” who have nothing to offer but united by bitterness, frustration, and religious and tribal sentiments.
The party dispelled fears that divergence of views and opinions among its members were capable of weakening it ahead of 2015. Instead, it said such were a reflection of its democratic stance where all members have opportunity to air their views and to freely canvass their opinions unlike what obtains in the opposition parties where opinions and views of members are muzzled by political godfathers.
Metuh also said, “PDP dismissed as “shadow chasing and day dreaming”, boasts by the leaders of the yet to be registered opposition coalition, the All Progressive Congress (APC), that they will take over government in 2015.
The party said power lies only with the people and not on the hands of few desperate individuals.
“The opposition alliance will soon be in disarray as those in the ranks will be betrayed and victimized by the godfathers who see the coalition as their personal estates.
“We welcome the opposition to the contest. However, they are already doomed to failure because Nigerians have since realised their undemocratic tendencies and desperation for power for selfish reasons. Nigerians know that they are merely strange bed fellows who are united by bitterness, frustration and religious and tribal sentiments and not for the national interest.
“They have continued to betray their lust and inner disposition by their utterances in seeking to “seize power” which has remained their only agenda. They fail to understand that in a democracy, power is not to be seized. It is conferred by the people and this is the reason the people have continued to identify with the PDP.
“The PDP believes in the people. No individual, group or tribe owns the PDP. It belongs to all Nigerians. The PDP is a big family, united in freedom. In a family there are bound to be divergence of opinions and views and this occurs where people are free.
What outsiders see as internal disagreements is actually a reflection of the democratic stance of the PDP. The PDP is the only party where people are absolutely free to express their views and freely canvass their opinions unlike in the opposition parties where the views and opinions of members are muzzled by their godfathers.
“Nigerians already know what to expect from the opposition and that is why they have rejected them. Nobody would want to support a party that breeds bitterness, anger and frustration. The world has noted Nigerians are a happy people. Nigerians are guided by the spirit of brotherliness, oneness and love for one another. So nobody wants a party that continues to sow the seeds of discord, frustration and anger among the people”.
The PDP, stating that the merger of the opposition parties is a positive factor for it, said it had shown that the parties were essentially weak and would not be able to grapple with the huge responsibility of managing a big party.
“We challenge the opposition also to be bold enough to hold primaries when the time comes. Many of those singing praises of the alliance will be betrayed and victimized by the godfathers and it will dawn on them that they have been deceived,” the statement said.
The PDP observed that as the only national party, strictly committed to the wellbeing of all Nigerians, it has the capacity to listen to all members, reconcile all the differences and carry all along as entrenched in its constitution and manifesto.
Stating that it remains the party to beat because of its democratic stance, the PDP, noted that it has formidable structures in all the wards, local government and states of the federation and called on its members to close ranks and remain united.
Said Metuh, “This is why the PDP will continue to win elections. The PDP is the only party that has formidable structures in all the wards, local government and states of the federation. We have the platform and a level playground to accommodate the views of everyone. People are free to express their views. As a family, we galvanize the views for the common good, united by our commitment to serve the people”.
The ACN yesterday described as a slap on democracy for President Goodluck Jonathan to recognise Governor Jang of Plateau State as the chairman of the NGF, despite allegedly losing to election to Governor Amaechi of Rivers State.
In a statement issued in Osogbo, Osun State yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the ACN said the President’s decision had shown that he had little or no respect for democracy, and would stop at nothing to jettison time-tested ideals on the altar of political opportunism.
It said the recognition of the losing candidate for the Chairmanship of the NGF had also shown that the President’s spokesmen either did not know the thinking of their principal or had chosen to engage in downright lies in his defence.
Mohammed declared: ”President Jonathan is frittering away whatever is left of his credibility by the day. His spokesman said in a statement the day after the NGF election that ‘the President has always shown a willingness to work harmoniously with any leadership freely and independently chosen by the Governors Forum for the collective progress and development of all sections of the country and will continue to do so.
”’President Jonathan trusts that as true democrats and respected national political leaders, members of the Governors Forum will quickly resolve the issues and differences amongst them which emerged yesterday (May 24th) and continue to contribute effectively to national development as a strong, and progressive body’.
”But it is now clear that the presidency’s statement is not worth the paper on which it is written, that in the Nigerian presidency, words do not carry their exact meanings and that the spokesmen for the President speak for no one but themselves.
When viewed in the context of similar deceitful statements by the presidency in the past, especially on the health of the First Lady, one can see a growing pattern of a lying presidency, a presidency that likes to hide behind one finger. This is sad, because without credibility, a President cannot govern successfully,” ACN said.
The party said the President, who should be looked up to as the father of all, has become the father of a few renegades, and descended from being the President of Nigeria to the President of the PDP and and now the President of a faction of the PDP.
”This President is daily cementing his unenviable reputation as the most divisive President in the history of Nigeria. By raising partisan politics to a pedestal higher than national interest, he has divided the country along religious, ethnic and political lines more than any of his predecessors.
”In the process he has destroyed or about to destroy national institutions and organisations. First, he succumbed to the pressure from his party to deal with the judiciary for daring to reverse the outcome of some of PDP’s rigged polls. But for a courageous Chief Justice of Nigeria who cannot be teleguided now in the saddle, the judiciary will have been emasculated altogether
”Then the President all but put an end to the fight against corruption, which is widely acknowledged as a canker worm that is fast destroying the fabric of our society, and now he has destroyed the NGF. This is not an enviable legacy for any President,” it said.
