2007: PDP Lists Conditions for Aspirants
To intervene in northern govs suit against onshore/off shore act
From Chuks Okocha in Abuja
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has listed conditions which its members seeking election into political offices must meet before they are considered by the party as flag bearers in 2007.
The party also said it would intervene in the suit filed against the Onshore/Offshore Dicho-tomy Act by governors of northern states and three of their South-west counterparts while restating its directive to party members that campaigns for the 2007 polls must stop now as they are premature.
PDP National Chairman, Chief Audu Ogbeh, who addressed newsmen at the end of the party's National Working Committee (NWC) meeting in Abuja yesterday said, "When the whistle for campaigns are blown, we want those who are contesting to tell us why they want to contest."
Ogbeh said the aspirants at all levels must have clear-cut and well-conceived programmes, agenda, and how these would be realised.
"They (aspirants) must tell us how they are going to do things to improve on what is going on, or bringing innovations to what is going on.
"We are tired of just blames and arguments of which zone it is going to be and all that. Let us hear from those who want to run, why they want to run, because they have to govern and in the last analysis, we can only win if our programmes are attractive based on what we are doing now," the PDP Chairman said.
He decried the effect the controversy on zoning of the party's presidential ticket is having on the polity.
"It is creating undue heat on the system. The most important thing at the moment is let us govern well. We want to say that these matters are not important at the moment. People are just creating undue hype and over-heating the system," he said.
Ogbeh said the PDP will at the appropriate time take a decision on which zone will produce the party's presidential candidate.
"We will take a decision and we will produce a candidate and the party will remain the same and Nigeria will go on," he said.
He expressed confidence that the 2007 polls will be devoid of any bloodshed and rancour.
"2007 will not be bloody, but lets not get too anxious about it, nothing will be bloody about 2007. It will bring joy and happiness to all," he added.
He restated the party's directive to its members to desist from unrestrained campaigns. "The campaigns are too premature, it must be stopped. There is an election in Ghana by November this year, you don't see any frenzy, and hype which 2007 has in Nigeria. The party wishes to bring that to a halt. Our intention at the moment is to govern well," he said.
Groups loyal to Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former military governor of Lagos, Brig-Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd) and former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida have been staging open campaigns to canvass support for their candidacy.
The three candidates from the North are hoping to run on PDP platforms. Their campaigns have opened the issue of zoning of the number one position by the PDP.
While most northern leaders of the party, insist the presidential slot should go to the north on the basis of zoning arrangement between North and South, some South-east leaders of the party have insisted the position has not been zoned and that the next president should come from the South-east.
President Olusegun Obasanjo, the incumbent, is from South-west zone and will in 2007 have completed two terms of eight years which make him in eligible to recontest.
Ogbeh also said the PDP will wade into the Onshore/Offshore Act suit instituted by Northern state governors with a view to amicably resolving the issue.
"This issue of the governors going to court came to us during the meeting with our governors and we want to assure that the party will wade into it at our own level and take a decision.
"It is something we feel we should not go to the court, but since they have gone to court, we will work on it. We believe that through dialogue and understanding, we will come to a happy conclusion of the matter," he added.
He confirmed that some governors have indeed been dipping their hands into the tills of local government councils. He, however, said that the party will take measures to stem the practice.
"We are not too satisfied with some of our governors. The party intends to follow that up by taking measures on this untoward illegal deductions and get it halted absolutely by ensuring that all deductions are limited to statutory and what is necessary," he said.
He noted that contrary to impressions being created, not all PDP governors are tampering with council funds even as he assured that such illegal deductions will be recovered.
He announced that the NWC would commence a nationwide tour in September to appraise how the newly elected council chairmen are settling down to the task of governance.
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