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Tag: the Peoples Democratic Party

  • Opposition parties threaten to boycott Ekiti governorship poll over PDP exclusion

    Opposition parties threaten to boycott Ekiti governorship poll over PDP exclusion

    Opposition parties in Ekiti State, under the aegis of Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), have threatened to boycott the June 20 governorship election if the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is excluded from participating.

    The Chairman, Mr. Owoola Daramola, described exclusion of PDP governorship candidate, Dr. Wole Oluyede, as dangerous for the country’s democracy, warning that such move could undermine democratic ethos and the credibility of electoral process.

    He spoke in Ado-Ekiti during a protest by PDP members at Ekiti State headquarters of Independent National Electoral Commission, over the exclusion of the party’s standard-bearer from the list of candidates participating in the June 20 governorship poll.

    The protesters, armed with placards, chanted solidarity songs in front of INEC office, even as INEC officials held a meeting with the IPAC chairman and PDP leaders, over the exclusion of the party from the election.

    Daramola said IPAC was compelled to intervene following the controversies surrounding the exclusion of PDP, noting that preliminary findings by the council showed the party conducted its governorship primary election in line with due process and Electoral Act.

    He warned that unlawful exclusion of any political party would damage public confidence in the election and set a dangerous precedent for Nigeria’s democratic system.

    “In Nigeria today, the narrative must change. Elections must be free, fair and credible. We cannot go into an election where a political party is illegally excluded. IPAC will not support such an exercise, and we will not be part of any election that undermines democratic principles,” he said.

    Speaking on behalf of PDP, former deputy governorship candidate, Mr Deji Ogunsakin, described the exclusion of the party as shocking, unjustified and a direct threat to democratic principles.

    He said the party was duly prepared for the June 20 governorship election and had complied with constitutional and electoral requirements.

    Ogunsakin said PDP conducted its governorship primaries in line with the Electoral Act, adding that INEC officials were present to monitor the exercise, which produced Oluyede as the governorship candidate.

    The PDP leader warned that denying the party participation in the election could undermine the credibility of the poll and erode public confidence in the electoral process.

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    He accused unnamed politicians of attempting to suppress the opposition parties out of fear of electoral contest, noting that such alleged undemocratic actions could destabilise the state if not addressed.

    Ogunsakin said Ekiti State had a long history of competitive politics and should not be turned into a one-party state, stressing that democracy thrived on competition, inclusion and free choice of the electorate.

    The PDP chieftain called on INEC to address the issue in the interest of peace and democracy, saying the party remained committed to lawful and peaceful engagement.

    He added that IPAC’s stance that there would be “no PDP, no election”, reflected the general concern among political stakeholders in Ekiti State.

    Addressing the protesters, the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr Bunmi Omoseyindemi, said the issues raised by PDP were beyond the purview of his office.

    Omoseyindemi, represented by Head of Department, Election and Party Monitoring, Kehinde Mustafa, said matters relating to the list of candidates were handled at the national headquarters, advising PDP to channel its grievances to INEC headquarters in Abuja for consideration.

    He reiterated the body’s commitment to neutrality, professionalism and adherence to Electoral Act and its guidelines, noting that INEC remained focused on conducting transparent and peaceful governorship election in the state.

  • Alarmingly, PDP goes for broke

    Fifth-rate politicians have taken over the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The party is now so fractured that no one is sure how many factions exist anymore. It began casually with three discernible factions before the 2023 elections, then grew to four some two years after, and is now feared to be about five or six factions, some of them so furtive that mutual suspicion is rife in the party. Those who converged on Ibadan on November 15 and reveled till the next day orchestrating what they freeheartedly described as an elective convention affirmed Kabiru Turaki as their chairman. Every other party position appears sinecure and surplus to requirement. Party chieftain Bode George, angry and opinionated as ever, and Oyo State governor Seyi Makinde inspired the revolt that produced Mr Turaki, a former Special Duties minister and senior advocate. Tired of pussyfooting over who were the legitimate leaders of the party, and exasperated by the knot that had shackled the party for years, they simply looked for a judicial sword and cut the restraints.

    Weeks before the convention, party chieftains were hopping from one court to another, until they had had enough. Now, in spite of themselves, their legal nightmares have just begun. It is feared that the party is irretrievably fractured. Perhaps. But there are many hardy perennials in the party who will not give up easily; and others who will go down fighting; and yet others who will make sheep’s eyes at the ruling party, hoping for a personal financial and political breakthrough. Admittedly the party was in a very bad spot, constrained by the chicaneries, or more accurately the intransigence, of former Rivers governor Nyesom Wike and his loyalists. For a party unwisely accustomed to breaking its own rules and hopping into bed with sundry political suitors, some of them dressed garishly in hideous robes, it was sadly not difficult to organise the kind of convention they put up in Ibadan two Fridays ago. Some of those who helped them organise the jamboree, including Plateau State governor Caleb Mutfwang and Adamawa State governor Umaru Fintiri, were appalled by the brazenness with which they sacked Mr Wike’s loyalists and enthroned the dour Mr Turaki.

    By the time they carried out the assault on the PDP Headquarters in Abuja days later, the apostasy in the party, not to say more factionalisation, was complete. The Wike amputation and the forcible coronation of Mr Turaki mean that mending the party fabric will now be more difficult than before. Not only will they become hopelessly mired in court cases, their depleted ranks will sap their spirit and send survivors scurrying for shelter wherever they can find it. Their only straw which they desperately clutch is the tenuous legitimacy the Ibadan convention conferred on Mr Turaki. But Mr Makinde, who almost singlehandedly inspired the convention and probably underwrote a significant portion of its budget, is not as charismatic as he pretends. Had he possessed the wit and élan, had he brought panache to his fights like the hated Mr Wike, had he acquired the fecundity for dissembling like Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP), he would have come out of the convention talced with leadership lavendar of the most exquisite composition.

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    It is not clear why the Makinde faction of the PDP settled for Mr Turaki; but they did, at great expense and at the risk of destroying the party. On the day their charge of the Wadata Plaza headquarters of the party came to nought, when their cavalry were stopped by violence and tear gas, Mr Makinde and Bauchi State governor Bala Mohammed stood grimly by as Mr Turaki made an ass of himself since his coronation barely a week earlier. Both governors winced as their new chairman made a plaintive appeal to the United States president Donald Trump to save Nigerian democracy. It was a momentous occasion, one which no one in this generation should ever miss. There he stood like a military officer who had just led his troops into an ambush and barely escaped with his life, asking the world’s most narcissistic, dictatorial and uncouth president to come rescue Nigeria from the grip of one-party rule. Was it a slip of tongue? Or had the tear gas still wafting in the air addled his brain and diminished his judgement? No one in the world, except this regular Rip van Winkle, goes to the American president seeking anything properly describable as democracy. No one, not Russia’s Vladimir Putin, nor the corpulent North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, would dare such antics even as a joke. But Mr Turaki, exhumed from some Neolithic crevices, dared.

    But someone exceeded all of them in political travesty: the hard talking Chief George. Given the role he played in the mass sacking of Mr Wike’s loyalists and the fracturing of the party, it is no wonder that he appeared drained thereafter, and has barely spoken a word since. Until enterprising reporters give us an account of how the decision was taken among the party’s panjandrums to do the mass sacking in the party leadership without recourse to either their own rules or the law, it can only be conjectured that Chief George was fully convinced that the Gordian knot restraining the party had to be brusquely cut. He was tasked with moving the motion for the decapitation, and he relished the assignment, especially being a former military officer. The job not only suited his unforgiving and tempestuous politics, it accorded with his frigid personality. He failed in Lagos PDP politics to stamp his authority and personality, and has never been known to keep an oath or his word. Fond of shooting first and asking questions later, and surrounded by obsequious party leaders, he led the troops to Golgotha without bothering about the consequences.

    It is hard for any Nigerian patriot to reconcile with the diminution of the PDP. The party never really had strategists, not even ones with half the talent of a failed coup plotter. Now they are proving to also lack thinkers, as Mr Tukur is showing so disapprovingly. At their rate of decline, they may soon discover that they will lack the men to help prosecute any electoral war. Hemmed in on all sides by incompetent and querulous men and women, and unable to free themselves from their straitjacket, they will soon join forces with those scheming by propaganda, abductions and subversion to undermine the APC administration.

  • Tinubu Media Force slams PDP,  reaffirms president’s commitment to national security

    Tinubu Media Force slams PDP,  reaffirms president’s commitment to national security

    The Tinubu Media Force (TMF) has dismissed recent allegations by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) accusing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of indifference toward Nigeria’s security challenges, describing the claims as baseless and a distortion of facts.

    In a statement titled “Telling the Truth About Tinubu’s Security Initiatives”, issued Monday evening by its national coordinator, Gbenga Abiola, the group said the President has demonstrated unprecedented urgency and commitment in addressing the nation’s security concerns.

    The statement outlined several measures taken under the Tinubu administration, including constitutional reforms aimed at overhauling Nigeria’s national security architecture and the rollout of an integrated security strategy. President Tinubu, it added, has consistently engaged security chiefs in detailed briefings, mandating them to pursue holistic and effective strategies for peace and stability.

    Specifically referencing the recent killings in Benue State, the group said the President has responded decisively by deploying special forces to restore order and instructing security agencies to arrest and prosecute perpetrators on all sides of the conflict. 

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    It added that the president also directed Governor Hyacinth Alia to convene peace meetings among warring factions and personally suspended all his engagements to console the bereaved families.

    The Tinubu Media Force noted that Governor Alia has publicly commended the President’s swift and proactive response to the Benue crisis, underscoring the administration’s commitment to tackling insecurity head-on.

    Describing the PDP’s accusations as “media rascality,” the group accused the opposition party of playing politics with human lives and attempting to discredit genuine efforts at restoring peace nationwide.

    “These initiatives demonstrate President Tinubu’s unwavering commitment to national security,” the statement concluded. 

    “We urge Nigerians to ignore the PDP’s propaganda and recognize the ongoing efforts to secure the country. The truth will prevail, and President Tinubu’s legacy as a champion of national security will stand the test of time.”