Ahead of 2015 presidential election, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), yesterday said it has perfected plans to beat the opposition parties on the game of political poaching, just as the party said it is learning the poaching politics.
National Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, made the disclosure yesterday when members of the party from Akwa Ibom State, led by its state governor, Obong Godswill Akpabio, paid a solidarity visit to him in Abuja.
“We will soon show to the opposition they are master poachers, but they are going to teach us to poach, and we will beat them at it, because when two members of your family fight, you should settle them and not for you to come and pitch one against the other, however if that is the game we will learn”, Mu’azu said.
Mu’azu also revealed that he will soon call for a conference that will involve all stakeholders for the party to address Nigerians on what PDP stands for.
“I will soon call for a conference that will involve all stakeholders for the party to address Nigerians on what the party stands for, I will set up a committee after the conference for manifesto review of the PDP, to ensure that the manifesto is sensitive to the needs and aspirations of Nigerians.
“The world is dynamic, so is our manifesto and we will ensure that in each wards, local governments, state by our development a foreigner will know we are PDP, as you drive along in this country, immediately you enter a PDP state, the difference will be clear” Mu’azu added.
He appealed to the Akwa Ibom delegation to support and encourage the national leadership in its drive to reposition the party and succeed at this important trying period.
“I assure you with your collaborative effort and partnership we will regain all our lost grounds and move forward”, he added.
Commenting on the defection of the G5 governors, Mu’azu appealed to them to come back to PDP.
Speaking on the occasion, Akpabio said “Most of us are outgoing governors, so whether they come back or not next year we must leave and our places others must take.
“I think we should concentrate more on those ones who will take over from those governors and ensure that those states remain PDP’s”.
On the call by the opposition All Progressives Party (APC) directing its members to block passage of the budget at the National Assembly, he described the call as “unpatriotic, it is unwarranted and I expect that even those in the National Assembly to know that reasonability should come in and they should do their constitutional duties.
“There is no way you can tell somebody to ground the Federal Government and to ground democracy because you are a political party and you think you have the power to do so. It is undemocratic, it is unpatriotic and I don’t think the members will follow such instruction”, he added.
Also speaking, state chairman of the party, Obong Paul Ekpo urged the national chairman to build bridges of understanding and create an atmosphere for rebirth of the party. “Whatever you want to do in the interest of our party, Akwa Ibom, as always will be with you all the way”.
In the same vein, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Tuesday expressed concern over growing conflicts among contestants within political parties.
Its National Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, expressed the view in Abuja at the National Youth Conference on the roadmap to the 2015 elections in Nigeria.
“INEC remains deeply concerned about widespread absence of moderation among Nigerian politicians and growing conflicts within parties and between contestants.
“This is because even if the management of elections meets the highest standards, insofar as the contestants are unwilling to play by the rules, there will be grave problem.
“The threats are now exacerbated by insecurity in some parts of the country, making the conduct of elections in those parts even more risk-prone,“ he said.
The chairman, represented by a National Commissioner of the commission, Mr Ismail Igbani, appealed to politicians to avoid provocative statement on the 2015 elections.
“If you listen to comments of some politicians on 2015 general elections you will assume that Nigeria is preparing for war”, he said.
The chairman said the use of language by some politicians was in most cases “indecorous and encouraging supporters to follow suit with more intemperate language”.
According to him, parties even find it difficult to select candidates, which create a situation in which practically every nomination process ends in a court case.
He said that the commission had on several occasions, got either directly or vicariously involved in the conflicts and court cases.
“Indeed, some pre-election court cases in the past have threatened to derail preparations for elections. Of particular note is the spate of ex-parte injunctions issued against the commission,” Jega said.
He, however, stressed the need for active citizens’ participation in the political process to provide checks against impunity in political culture.
Jega called on the youth to come out en-mass and register to enable them to vote candidates of their choice in 2015 elections.
The Project Director, Democratic Governance for Development, Dr. Mourtada Deme, urged the youth to engage in the electoral process to give them a strong political voice in the country.
Deme said that an inclusive democratic society should ensure that youth participated in its affairs, stressing that effort should be made to educate the youth on the importance of voting.