APC Mocks PDP, Says It’s Suffering from Anti-democratic Blight



Rejects result of Offa local council poll
Opposition lawmakers hail break up of ruling party
By Onwuka Nzeshi, Onyebuchi Ezigbo, Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja and Hammed Shittu in Ilorin

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has described last Saturday's crisis-ridden convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as a product of the anti-democratic tendencies of the party.

Also, the party in its reaction to last Saturday's Offa local government area poll result, said the election result announced by the Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission (KWASIEC) in favour of PDP was unacceptable and would not be allowed to stand.
APC's interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Muhammed, who spoke to THISDAY yesterday afternoon from London, said with what happened on Saturday, the PDP was now on life support with no chance for recovery.

“The long awaited implosion of the PDP that finally occurred yesterday (Saturday) did not come as a surprise to many discerning political observers. It was a disaster waiting to happen.

“I read the reasons given by the factional Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Kaawu Baraje, and they all boil down to lack of internal democracy within the party, the reign of the culture of impunity, the abandonment of the rule of law, the hijack and personalisation of power by a cabal within the party actively encouraged by the presidency,” he said.

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar had on Saturday along with six northern governors of Niger, Sokoto, Jigawa, Kano, Adamawa, Kwara States and Rivers State Governor Chibuike Amaechi, announced the formation of a splinter group called the New PDP.

The formation of the splinter group was hinged on the emergence of a “Unity List” at the special national convention of PDP held in Abuja, which allegedly left out the names of some supporters of the seven governors from contesting.

However, while giving reasons for the crisis at the PDP convention, the APC scribe said the division could be linked to the disconnect between the leaders of the party and their followers, apparent lack of direction and focus on the part of the leaders of the party, ineptitude, and lack of vision on the part of the leadership of the PDP.

“Given the above score card by Baraje, a former acting National Chairman of the PDP and his fellow travellers, need one look further why the country today is in the firm grip of insecurity, why poverty and hardship is stalking the land, why millions of our youths are aimlessly roaming the streets for non existent jobs, our infrastructure decaying?

“Or can we any longer be in doubt about the sheer ineptitude, visionless-ness and impotence of the PDP-led federal government,” he said.

Meanwhile, APC has reacted to the result of the Offa local government area poll result held last Saturday, describing it as cooked and a brazen attempt by the PDP to convert its defeat to victory.

In a statement from Muhammed, the party demanded the immediate release of the authentic results of the rerun local government poll by the state electoral commission.

It said, according to the authentic results of the elections, which were in possession of KWASIEC as well as security agencies, the APC got 11,526 votes to PDP's 4,668, as against the cooked figures announced by the PDP in Ilorin, which awarded PDP 35,937 and APC 20,161.

APC expressed shock at the antics of the Electoral Officer (EO) of Offa local government area and other KWASIEC officials, who sneaked out of the local government collation centre, just when the results were to be announced without carrying out their assigned duties.

In his reaction to the result of the Offa local government area poll, the chairmanship candidate on the platform of the APC, Hon. Saheed Popoola, promised that the result of the election that declared the PDP candidate, Hon. Abdulwaheed Segun Olanipekun would as the winner of the election would be challenged in the court of law. This, he said, would enable him to retrieve his mandate from Olanipekun.

Popoola, who spoke with journalists in Ilorin yesterday, said: “We are rejecting the said result as no one has declared it, rather than the radio announcement they heard which mentioned the PDP candidate as the winner of the election.”

According to him, “We know that there is little or no difference between the PDP and KWASIEC and we have the conviction that come rain, come sun, every election will be for the progressives in Offa.”

In a related development, two APC senators - Femi Lanlehin (Oyo South) and Babajide Omoworare (Osun East), yesterday hailed the split in the PDP at the weekend, describing it as one cheering development that was long expected.

Speaking with THISDAY in a telephone conversation, Lanlehin, who described PDP as a party that was full of irreconcilable differences and inordinate ambition, added that the split portends something good for the country.

Furthermore, Lanlehin said the party had not only been oppressive to the country but much more to ordinary Nigerians as he encouraged the dissident group (New PDP) to team up with what he described as the progressive group of the country.

He added: “The split is a blessing to the country. We are talking of a party that has been in power for over 14 years and has been unable to impact positively on the lives of ordinary Nigerians as well as infrastructure. So the implosion is a welcome development,” he said.

On his part, Omoworare, who in a statement by his Special Assistant, Media, Mr. Tunde Dairo, said he was not surprised by the split, said: “It is laughable that the PDP that was wishing the APC a fatal end has suddenly met its waterloo and is headed for the rocks.”
He noted that polarisation of the ruling party had affirmed the belief that the party was not built on progressive principles.

Omoworare also said the split should be celebrated because the ruling party had run “dry of creativity and has resorted to all forms of intimidation to browbeat everyone into line, even party members.”

He enjoined the breakaway group “not to dissipate its energy battling the carcass of PDP because it is already a party of yesterday,” adding, “The APC has its doors widely open to welcome all that are interested in changing Nigeria for the better where jobs will be provided for the youths and corruption will be a thing of the past.”

Similarly, the opposition caucus in the House of Representatives hailed the split in the party.
Minority Leader in the House, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila (APC/Lagos), said the factionalisation had long been expected given the trend of events in the ruling party.

“I have always said you cannot build something on nothing. PDP was and remains nothing. Good riddance to bad rubbish . Perhaps this is the much touted transformation agenda of the PDP after all. All hail the arrival of APC the true and only progressive party built on something -the need and desire for change,” Gbajabiamila said.

Chairman, House Committee on Justice, Hon. Ali Ahmad (PDP/Kwara) who also hailed the emergence of the new group said the main grouse of those who walked out of the PDP convention was the way the party was being managed like the private estate of one individual.

Ahmad said the new group was the authentic faction and might be forced to expel all those loyal to Tukur from the party.

“We are not forming another party. We are still members of the PDP and hopefully, the other faction will sue for peace and reconciliation. But if they don't we will go the whole hog and expel them from the party because we are the authentic group,” Ahmad said.

Also, Chairman, House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream),Hon. Dakuku Peterside, hailed the emergence of the new faction.

He described it as a necessary detour in the continuing battle to build an inclusive and all embracing national party in Nigeria.
Peterside who represents Andoni/Opobo-Nkoro Federal Constituency of Rivers State, accused the Tukur’s faction of violating its constitution and indulging in unnecessary witch-hunting of its vocal members.

He expressed disappointment at the recent developments in the ruling party and urged Nigerian to lend their support to the new faction.