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Discipline, Unity top agenda as PDP tours South east
NKIRU OKEKE AND KENNETH OFOMA
THE sound of
the drum boomed and reverberated along with that which came from the gong and
other musical instrument. Local dancers struggled fiercely to out class one
another. The air, of course, was thickly charged.
This was exactly the atmosphere last
Saturday in Enugu when the leadership and top notchers of the ruling Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) gathered at the coal city for the South East zone tour of
the Party.
Nike Lake Resort Hotel, the venue of the
august event was a beauty to behold as anybody who is somebody in the zone and
who is from the zone showed and moved in the thick crowd to receive the Chief
Audu Ogbeh, National Chairman of the party-led team.
But in the midst of the convivial
atmosphere, the zonal leaders of the party still put across their message in a
clear tone - that their stand on producing the next President of the country is
not negotiable. For this reason, many immediately argue that the dancers, the
music and the songs were already unmistakable signs of campaign preparatory to
2007.
Governors of Ebonyi, Enugu and Anambra
States were present, while Abia and Imo States were represented by their
deputies. Each of these states came with thousand of supporters and dancing
groups, or what some called "campaign groups", each trying to outshine the
other.
Besides, Senators, House of
Representatives members, ministers and other prominent sons and daughters of the
zone were in attendance. Drawing confidence from the extra-ordinary crowd of the
party’s chieftains from the zone in attendance and also on the facts that they
are on their "fathers’ soil," the PDP South East National Vice Chairman, Chief
Fidelis Uzichukwu Chukwu maintained that the zone had a stake i the presidency.
Beaming with smiles and repeating most of
his utterances, possibly for emphasis more than as a mannerism, Nze Ozichukwu
argued that the South-East can responsibly lay a claim to the number one
position
in the country.
"The South-East zone of our great party is
not indifferent to the controversy and agitation surrounding the 2007 presidency
and the party’s zoning or rotation arrangement. We wish to reiterate that we as
a zone have a stake in the presidency of our dear country and we justifiably
believe that the South-East can responsibly lay a claim to the presidency" he
stated on behalf of the party chairmen of the five states of the zone who signed
the address. He however noted that the zone will demonstrate maturity and
consider the collective interest of the PDP, even as it will build bridges and
persuade people from other zones to support them, so that they can prove their
mettle in the Nigerian presidency.
"At the end of it all, when the PDP family
speaks, we will abide by it. In the appreciation of countervailing arguments
from various zones and stakeholders concerning the zoning of the presidency, we
believe that the surest route to a decision that will carry everybody along is
that which allows equity, fairness and intergenerational responsibility and even
a sovereign remedy approach to prevail, " he added.
The South East also demanded for creation
of more states, local governments and federal constituencies in the zone,
stating that there should be equity and fairness, as the North and West have
higher numbers of states, local government councils and federal constituencies.
"A brief review of our developmental
history reveals these inequalities; between 1966 and now the North has grown
from 14 provinces to 20 states, the East from 12 provinces to 9 states and the
west and Midwest from 9 provinces to 20 states, the East from 12 provinces to 9
states and the west 8 states. Of the 774 local government areas, the North has
474 and the south 300, out of which the South East has only 95". The zone
further appealed for the federal government’s intervention in the areas of
infrastructure and social amenities in the zone.
The vice chairman also requested that the
lingering issue of payment of military pensions to discharged Nigerian soldiers
of the South East origin, who participated in the Nigerian civil war be settled.
He, however, declared the support of the
zone for the on-going reforms and restructuring of president Obasanjo’s
government and also appreciated what they called the dynamic leadership of the
National Chairman, Chief Audu Ogbeh and the members of the National Executive
Committee.
Issues that topped the agenda of the
meeting were disunity and indiscipline among PDP members. Speakers at the
meeting chided members on the issue. Senate President, Adolphus Wabara lamented
that party members only received condemnations, whenever they disobeyed party’s
directives rather than face serious disciplinary ensures, arguing that some of
the elected officials carry on as if the are bigger than the party.
He reminded party members that whatever
position they are holding, was made possible by the party. With this in mind he
said they should at all times support the programmes and policies of the party
in the interest of the people.
Said he: "To have party discipline and
unity and to save our party from decline and disgrace, we need to go beyond mere
exhortation. We need to show that there are sanctions for anti-party behaviours
and that the party has the will to enforce them. Otherwise we risk losing our
edge".
The Senate President pointed out that the
ugly trend of disunity and indiscipline which he said was gradually afflicting
the party should be nipped in the bud before it becomes a life-threatening
malaise. He warned that a big party like theirs, stands the risk of becoming
complacent, unwieldy and unfocused.
He lamented that "mere condemnation would
amount to a slap on the wrist. Mere condemnation will portray the party as one
where discipline is not valued. And mere condemnation will portray the party as
an organisation that doesn’t have the capacity or the will to enforce discipline
within its fold.
"This will not only put the party in bad
light, it will embolden others to thumb their noses at the party. A bad and
dangerous precedent would have been set. And such bad and dangerous precedents
will eventually undermine the party".
While urging members to shun corruption,
he expressed hope that the session would address the multiplicity of problems
threatening the unity of the party and commended the National leadership of the
party for initiating the tours of the six geo-political zones of the country.
"It is important to note that a big party
like ours stands the risk of becoming complacent. This is what happens when the
leadership becomes too distant from the followers, when proper coordination is
thrown out of the window and when there is no adequate and effective
communication among its members.
"When this happens, its members begin to
work at cross-purposes and speak with different voices. Such a party is surely
on the way out of reckoning. It is gratifying that our leaders have realised how
dangerous this could be that they have also realised that for us to grow from
strength to strength we must continue to work on cohesion within our fold."
Also speaking, the party’s National
chairman, Chief Ogbeh called for judicious disbursement of local government
funds to enable the elected council chairman perform effectively.
Ogbeh, who was visibly disturbed over a
negative advertorial placed by the Ohanaeze youth forum (OYF), accusing him of
planning to scuttle the Igbo presidency in 2007, absolved himself Ndigbo,
saying: "I have great administration for people of the zone for producing some
of the brightest stars of the nation"
He further advised politicians,
positioning themselves for 2007, to ask God for help, rather than blackmailing
others to buy their ways.
He also commended the economic policy of
the federal government, maintaining that it would offer job opportunities to the
teeming Nigerian youths.
The chairman further urged party members
to strengthen the state chapters of the party and also to desist from running to
Abuja at the slightest provocation, instead of settling their differences at the
state level.
In his own contribution, the Acting
Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the party, Chief Tony Anenih, described the
south East zone as the stronghold of the party, explaining that the National
leadership of the party embarked on the tour to find out problems faced by its
members and also to resolve crises among its members.
Among the thousands of party faithfuls who
graced the occasion were, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, Alhaji Abubakar Rimi, Chief
Chris Uba, Information Minister, Chief Chukwuemeka Chikelu, National Deputy
chairman, South Chief Shuaibu Oyedokun and woman leader, Mrs Josephine Anineh.
The PDP National leadership also inspected
some projects executed by Governor Chimaroke Nnamani of Enugu State since his
second term in office.
Though the PDP tour of the South East has
come and gone, the poser remains, to what extent will the tour transorm the
party and enthrone the much publicised discipline and unity among members? Will
it truly address the problems tearing the party apart in the zone or will it,
like other issues in Nigerian and in pontification?
Some other observers, however believe that the PDP was
indirectly started campaigning for the 2007 elections whichever is the case, the
consensus is that the South East zonal tour of the PDP was very successful and
that the fond memories from it would linger long enough for the leaders to
become convinced that the nation’s presidency should be ceded to the South East.
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