thisday0520

8
NEWS
WEDNESDAY MAY 20, 2015 • THISDAY
News Editor Davidson Iriekpen
Email davidson.iriekpen@thisdaylive.com
PDP Crisis Deepens as Fani-Kayode
Calls NWC Members Cowards, Traitors
Says they sabotaged Jonathan
Chuks Okocha in Abuja
The crisis rocking the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday
took a new dimension as the
Director of Media and Publicity
of the party’s presidential
campaign organisation, Chief
Femi Fani-Kayode, described
some members of the National
Working Committee (NWC) of
the party as traitors, ingrate and
cowards not deserving of their
offices.
Fani-Kayode dismissed the
allegations of hate campaigns
allegedly orchestrated by the
campaign directorate as one of the
reasons why President Goodluck
Jonathan lost the presidential
election and indeed PDP losing
the general election.
He called on the NWC members
to resign if they have any modicum
of dignity as some Labour leaders
did after losing elections in the
United Kingdom.
Fani-Kayode also accused the
NWC of using hate campaigns
against the All Progressives
Congress (APC) as it described
APC as a ‘Janjaweed’ and Taliban
party.
The National Publicity Secretary
of PDP, Olisa Metuh, had last week
said President Jonathan lost the
presidential election because of
the hate campaigns introduced
by the presidential campaign
organisation of the party.
But reacting yesterday, Fani-
Kayode dismissed the allegation,
saying: “The truth is that their
allegations are not only baseless
but it is also unadulterated rubbish
and those who made them are
nothing but ingrates, cowards
and traitors who know nothing
about politics, political campaigns,
intellectual discourse or political
engagement.
“They are simply trying to
revise and re-write history in
order to cover up their treachery,
weaknesses and inadequacies. They
are fuelled by hate and envy and
worse of all, right from the start,
they had no interest in fighting
for our leader and presidential
candidate, President Jonathan, or
in ensuring that he won the election.”
According the PDP presidential
campaign spokesman, the NWC
of the party were envious of the
campaign council, saying: “From
day one, all they did was sulk about
the fact that a presidential campaign
organisation had been set up and
that they would not be able to have
control of the campaign themselves
or have access to the resources that
we were given. At every point, they
tried to undermine our efforts and
sabotage us but we ignored them
and remained focused on doing
our job despite their provocations.
“From day one, all they were
interested in was controlling others
and telling them what to do. They
were not in the fray, they refused to
enter the heat of battle and all they
did was moan and bicker from
the side walk like little children.
“What we were doing and
attempting to do was lost on
them because they had never
taken anything seriously and
they found it hard to comprehend
the logic and style of those of us
who did it.
“Their arrogance was
insufferable, they were an
unmitigated disaster and their
leadership style was abysmal.
It still is. If any group of people
were responsible for our loss, it
was them. They were envious of
the PDP presidential campaign
organisation and its high profile
and they are nothing but a bunch
of bitter and treacherous ingrates
who have no business leading a
political party.”
However, he exonerated some
of the NWC members, explaining
that: “It is important to note that
not all of them were bad. Some of
them like Uche Secondus, Kema
Chikwe, Jalo, Wale Oladipo, the
National Youth Leader and a
few others did very best and
supported the president as best
as they could but the majority of
them were terrible.”
According to Fani-Kayode,
“What they need to understand
and appreciate is that we will
not sit by idly and allow them
re-write history or make us the fall
guys. The only reason we have
not opened up on them is out of
respect for President Jonathan and
because we want to ensure that
our party remains united. That
does not however mean that we
are fools or that we will allow
ourselves to be turned into sitting
ducks or someone’s punching bag.
“That does not mean that we
will allow them to treat us as soft
targets or that we are incapable of
hitting back. The lies, falsehood,
innuendos and terrible stories
that they are bandying around
about us are just despicable and if
they do not stop, they will divide
the party and utterly destroy it.
That is the sad and bitter truth.
In playing this game blame and
pointing fingers at others, they
are biting off far more than they
can chew.
“The fact is that the presidential
campaign organisation not only
did an excellent job but we also
fought a damn good fight. We
fought a better fight than any other
organ of the party had fought
over the last two or three years
against a relentless, well-funded,
well-motivated and well-organised
opposition. Before the presidential
campaign orgaisation came into
being, the PDP had virtually lost
its voice and those who do not
recognise this have obviously
lost touch with reality. Those that
attack us and cast aspersion on
our character and blame us for
the failure of our party and our
president to win the election are
not seeing things clearly.
“They are hopelessly confused
and they have no idea how political
campaigns are conducted in the
civilised world. Their accusations
are not only baseless, but they are
also self serving,” he said.
Fani-Kayode said: “Again
looking inwards, was it the
presidential campaign organisation
that first coined the phrase
Janjaweed and Taliban party
and labelled the APC as the
Janjaweed and Taliban party? No,
it was not. It was nobody in our
campaign organisation rather it
was somebody in the NWC of
the PDP. Is that not what you call
a campaign of hatred? “
He accused the NWC members
of doing underhand deal with the
aspirants in the primary elections.
“Instead of leading the party
these few individuals in the NWC
were busy doing deals with the
APC secretly. We in the Campaign
Organisation were not like others
that were collecting monies from
all the various PDP aspirants in
the states and promising them
the party’s nomination and ticket.
“This led to a lot of problems
within the party because in the end
they did not give those aspirants
what they asked for and what
they promised. Consequently
many of those aspirants rebelled
and worked against us during
the elections,” Fani-Kayode said
Labour Party Tasks Jonathan, Buhari
on Unpaid Workers’ Salaries
Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
The Labour Party (LP) has
asked both President Goodluck
Jonathan and the president-elect,
Muhammodu Buhari, to factor
the welfare of workers, especially
those being owed salaries by
some state governments, into
their transition plans.
The party frowned at the
apparent lack of concern for
workers’ condition by the powers
that be, wondering whether it
is the federal government or
the states that are to blame for
the ugly state of affairs in the
economy.
This is contained in a statement
issued yesterday by the National
Secretary of the LP, Kayode Ajulo.
“A situation where some state
governments owe workers’
salaries up to seven months
is not only unacceptable but
shameful. It is most despicable
that instead of addressing the
issue of workers’ welfare, an
atmosphere of criminal silence
pervades the political arena, while
duelling on ministerial lists and
petty inner party squabbles.
“It is our belief in the LP that
the Jonathan administration,
although left with only very
few days in office, still owes
Nigerians explanation whether
the government still owes states
allocations? Has there been a
change in the percentages
allocated to the states? Or
has the federal government
short-changed the states in
anyway, leading to their
dwindling fortunes? Who really
is responsible for this mess?”
President Jonathan’s government
needs to set the record straight.
“Likewise, for the incoming
administration, which rode
to power on the promise of
turning things around and
mouthing the ‘change’ mantra,
it is appalling that nothing is
being said about the working
people and their plight. In any
country, the working class and
the downtrodden constitute the
goose that lay the golden egg.
“There is no way any country
can prosper without taking
cognisance of the special place
of workers and ensuring that
their wages are paid promptly.
Those who promise change but
preside in states where workers
are owed for several months
and show no remorse are
clearly profiteers on the
popular psyche and quest,”
he said.
The statement went further
to upbraid the incoming
administration, pointing out
that: “It is equally untenable that
just a few days to handover, the
‘change agents’ have not bothered
to come forward with a clear
programme to address the plight
of Nigeria’s downtrodden.
ECOWAS NIGHT OUT
L-R: Wife of the Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament, Dr. Nwanneka Ekweremadu; Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Senator Ike
Ekweremadu; ECOWAS Female Parliamentarians Association (ECOFEPA) awardee, Mrs. Isioma Ukwa; and the special guest of honour and
wife of the Senate President, Mrs. Helen Mark, at the ECOFEPA award night in Abuja...yesterday
Julius Atoi
G-5 Governors Made APC’s Victory Possible, Say
Atiku, Okorocha
Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
Former Vice-President, Atiku
Abubakar and the Imo State
Governor, Chief Rochas Okorocha,
have attributed the victory of the
All Progressives Congress (APC) to
the courageous decision of the five
former governors of the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) to dump
their party and teem up with the
opposition party.
Speaking during a special
dinner held for the out going
and incoming governors of the
APC under the auspices of the
Progressives Governors Forum
(PGF), Atiku said the reasons why
the five governors who joined the
APC made victory possible for the
party and ensured the defeat of
PDP was due to their outstanding
performances and the fact that
they were close to the people.
He said the governors have
made significant impact in
governance and through their
sacrifices made momentous
contributions towards the victory
of APC at the presidential election.
“This is why the people of their
states love them and Nigerians
also love them. It is because of
this that the exit of three of these
governors from the PDP amongst
others and their joining of the APC
contributed significantly to our
victory in recent polls,” he said.
While addressing the
gathering, Okorocha described
the contributions of the out going
governors, especially those that
defected from the PDP as very
key to the revolution that saw the
historic victory of an opposition
party over the ruling party in the
country.
“Make no mistake about it,
without the five governors that
joined the APC in 2013, we will
not here today. Anyone who
understands the power and
might of the federal government,
especially under a vindictive
leadership, knows the enormous
risks taken by Governors Rabiu
Musa Kwankwaso, Aliyu
Magatarda Wammako, Abdulfatah
Ahmed and the lion-heart Rotimi
Amaechi. What happened to our
colleague, Murtala Nyako could
have happened to anyone of
them,“ he said.
But the National Chairman
of the APC, while commending
the governors for their bold and
courageous effort in working for
the victory of the party, sounded
a note of caution on the need for
them to help safeguard the victory
by ensuring good governance.
He said the party made a
promise that there will be change
and said the governors are going
to be the standard bearers of the
change that the party is preaching.
Commenting on the outgoing
governors, Oyegun said each of them
exceeded the standard benchmark
of performance in governance.
“I want to appeal to everyone
here that we have scored a signal victory
and that the way things are done
henceforth must be different. The
whole world will be watching us
from Nay 29 when the reigns of
power is handed over to us,” he
said.