By Henry Umoru
Former Federal Commissioner for Information and South
South leader, Chief Edwin Clark said yesterday that the alleged imposition of
candidates who did not win the party primary elections as party candidate will
haunt the party at the polls.
He regretted that the imposition of candidates was at
all levels in the party. The ruling party's machinery ensured President
Goodluck Jonathan emerged PDP's sole presidential candidate. Party chieftains
had declared the seat was not vacant.
Consequently, PDP governors keyed in and bulldozed the
way for their preferred candidates to emerge party gubernatorial candidates at
all cost. Some of the governors ensured their candidates won their primary
elections. Delta State was one of the few exceptions where the incumbent Governor
allowed true democracy to hold sway. However, for state and national
assemblies, the PDP leadership substituted names of many winners with those who
lost in the primaries. The story was same in many parts of the country where
party members who suffered such humiliation decamped to other parties.
Clark frowned at this yesterday and feared that the
apathy it created within the party would haunt the party at the polls at all
levels. But he was optimistic President Jonathan would still emerge winner.
He, however, said that things would change for the
better for the party once Jonathan is re-elected in the March 28 Presidential
election. Noting that matters for the PDP were not helped by aides and party
chieftains who denied well meaning people access to the President, Clark said
Jonathan's re-election will end the era of “People dey work, monkey dey chop.”
Clark spoke as the National Chairman of the party,
Alhaji Adamu Muazu yesterday ordered the 36 states and the Federal Capital
Territory, FCT, campaign coordinators of the party to ensure that the President
Jonathan and other party candidates are elected during the March 28 and April
11, presidential and National Assembly elections respectively.
Muazu also, handed down a 10- point agenda to the
Coordinators, stressing that they must also ensure that PDP had overwhelming
majority in the National Assembly to ensure the progress and prosperity of
Nigeria under the PDP till 2019.
The PDP national chairman maintained that the party
would achieve success despite huge opposition by the All Progressives Congress,
APC. He then asked them to remain steadfast during the campaigns.
However, Clark spoke at his Asokoro residence, when a
group of PDP supporters from Gombe South/Central Senatorial District in Gombe
State paid him a courtesy visit. He said that the imposition of candidates was
not democratic against the backdrop that the people were appointed as
candidates of the party and not elected, in line with democratic principles.
He wondered why the National Working Committee, NWC
and the National Executive Committee, NEC, of the party would allow such ugly
scenarios considering the consequences.
The Ijaw leader stressed that imposition of candidates
at all levels by the leadership would haunt the party at the polls.
Responding to complaints by his visitors over the
alleged imposition of candidates by the state governor, he said, “I am very sad
indeed that people in Gombe State; majority of our minority people are being
held hostages. The area of imposition is not limited to Gombe.
The problem in PDP across the country as of today is
caused by imposition of candidates. People being replaced by those who were not
qualified for reasons best known to the party. So these are problems we are
trying to solve
“A situation whereby a governor of a state would try
to nominate everybody to become part of him is not democracy.
“When they do that they are merely protecting their
own interests. If you nominate someone to represent you, they will go and
nominate somebody else.
“The leadership of the PDP at various levels are doing
that for their selfish interests. That is why they don't allow you to elect
your candidate for an election. It is the same people who will deny you access
to Mr. President.”
Clark, however assured that such situation will stop
in the party after the 2015 general elections.
He reiterated that all Nigerians were equal and that
victims of post election violence in 2011 in Gombe State would be identified
and adequately compensated.
According to him, the era when a group of people
thought that Nigeria belonged to only them was over.
On the deployment of soldiers, the former federal
commissioner for information said that troops would be deployed at polling
centres to assist the police to ensure a hitch-free elections, pointing out
that what the people wanted was a safe environment to exercise their rights,
which could only be achieved with deployments of soldiers.
He said, “ our people want their safety when they go
out to vote and the soldiers would be deployed to guarantee that.”
Earlier, the leader of the delegation, Ibrahim Dikko
had said that candidates were imposed and also lamented the neglect of Gombe
South and Gombe Central Senatorial Districts in the scheme of things, warning
that if victims of pre and post election violence in the state were not
compensated and the lack of respect for political culture was not addressed, it
would be difficult for the party to win 40 percent of the votes in the state.
Meanwhile, Muazu who met with the state coordinators
at the Wadata House- PDP National Secretariat, Abuja warned that if they must
win the polls, there was the need for them to show total commitment, loyalty
and transparency.
He also urged them to increase their work speed to
ensure success, by strictly following the 10- point agenda which said that if
executed, would lead the party to victory.
His words, “It is sacrosanct for the party to ensure
that President Jonathan and Vice President Namadi Sambo are duly re-elected.
This is a cardinal objective that all coordinators must bear in mind and work
towards their realization.
“The PDP has to produce a working majority in the
National Assembly to ensure that the progress and prosperity of Nigeria under
the PDP is ensured till 2019.
“The importance of a bandwagon effect must be stressed
and seized with both arms so that the party can win all the elections and
therefore continue its tremendous transformation of Nigeria in all sectors of
the economy.
“Coordinators must work in tandem with state governors
in PDP controlled states and party chairmen in non-PDP controlled states in
order to have a cohesive force that will finish off the opposition.
“Most importantly, this is time for commitment,
loyalty and transparency. This is crucial to winning the 2015 elections.
“Opposition antics will be to hit the social media
with faked results before INEC announces the full, final and authentic results.
“You must remain steadfast despite the heavy
propaganda arsenal of the opposition which the PDP has exposed in recent weeks
and led them to fall apart.
“Blow your own trumpet because our administration has
achieved a lot under President Jonathan. As the ambassadors of this
administration, you must not be afraid to blow your trumpet because no one will
blow it for you as we have achieved so much which the opposition is pretending
never happened.
“Our party has hit the opposition hard by exposing
their pack of lies and their desperation to win at all costs and relying solely
on promises that they have no intention of fulfilling.
“We must flaunt our successes in agriculture
(dry season farming and fertilizer distribution revolution), education (over
200 almajiri schools, 13 new universities in thirteen states), power, aviation,
job creation and the economy which has made Nigeria the biggest economy in
Africa. Go for it my brothers and sisters. We are on the move to victory as our
enemies are now running scared.”
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