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Between fair comment and ignorance
By Venatius Ikem
THE editorial of The Guardian newspaper of Tuesday, October 19, 2004 titled "PDP and the Ministers" makes interesting reading especially when viewed against its background of numerous doublespeaks and in some cases utter ignorance of the role of political parities in a Presidential democracy.
The general tone of the editorial suggests in summary that the PDP, in attempting to consult with its Ministers in the Federal Government is "constituting itself into a government monitoring group" and therefore "exceeding its bounds". According to The Guardian, rather than the party concerning itself with monitoring the performance of its government, it should "brainstorm on how best to position themselves to win elections".
In other words, The Guardian wants the PDP to exist only as an election contesting machine, as if winning elections alone is an end in itself. Interestingly, the newspaper while preaching its "keep off governance" sermon at the same time advises the party to "focus on the tenets of good governance and on how best to salvage a sagging democracy". The question is how can we ensure good governance if we do not monitor the performance of our members that are saddled with the responsibility of governance?
The above observations are at best self-contradictory. To put the records straight, the party has a responsibility to monitor the implementation of government programmes which are derived from our manifesto. After all, it is the party and its ideas that go to the people, seeking for votes. That the PDP is in power today is because the people of Nigeria believe in the manifesto of the party. It is indeed true that the party recently met with some ministers in critical sectors of government that have direct bearing on the security and well-being of the citizens. This is because we believe we would ultimately be held to account for our stewardship by the electorate since the mandate was given to the party and not any individual. It is therefore incumbent on the party to consult with and advise any of its members executing our manifesto to ensure a strict compliance with our promises to the electorate.
The Guardian also misses the point when it ignorantly posits that the "the ministers are answerable to the President and not the President's party or anyone else". The Ministers are a part of the executive arm which the President heads. How can they not be answerable to the party when the President himself believes in the concept of party supremacy? Had the party not won elections how would they emerge as ministers? The ministers themselves realise this fact, hence their enthusiastic response to the party's summons.
We appreciate the concern of the newspaper that the PDP must address the issues dearest to Nigerians: issues of poverty alleviation, unemployment, youth development, education, healthcare and the Niger Delta problem. The meeting with the ministers, which in any case is a continuous process, is meant to address these issues. These issues cannot be tackled without constant reference to our manifesto which is the basis of the existence of our governments at all levels.
To say there are no discernible political programmes or body of principles and values to which party members are committed in the PDP is, to say the least, uncharitable. The Nigerian people who voted for the Party in 1999 and overwhelmingly renewed the mandate in 2003 know better. They certainly did not vote for a party without principles, programmes or values. You may do well to study the party manifesto.
The reference to a "babel of voices" to portray the divergence of opinions within the party is not a minus but a testimony of a vibrant political party with adequate room for robust debate and occasional disagreements. These do not in anyway lead to break up, loss of elections or disintegration but consensus. That is why we remain the party to beat in the current dispensation. Again, the ultimate judges of our performance as a party and as a government are the Nigerian people and not some self-appointed arbiters of democracy.
The dialogue with Government functionaries to ensure a quick delivery of the dividends of democracy is to us, sacred duty and not a self-imposed job as unfairly suggested by The Guardian. We owe it to our people to continue along this line until our manifesto is implemented to the letter. And as aptly stated in section C of our mission statement in our Manifesto we are committed to "building a just society which provides basic needs, ensures equal opportunities for self-development through education and gainful employment". In pursuing this mission we owe no apologies.
- Ikem is National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
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