The
Peoples Democratic Party has administered an oath of secrecy to its
members of staff as part of its efforts to control the flow of
information in and outside the party.
The compulsory oath, which took many of
the workers by surprise, was supervised on Thursday by the Acting
National Secretary of the party, Chief Solomon Onwe.
Some of the workers, who spoke with our
correspondent on Sunday, complained about the oath, which they said was
aimed at victimising perceived enemies by some leaders of the party.
They said that some members of the
National Working Committee of the PDP were not happy with them and had
been doing everything possible to replace them with their loyalists.
The workers claimed that Onwe told them
that anyone suspected to be fraternising with journalists might be
summarily dismissed if the party found out that a piece of information
was leaked by any of them.
One of the workers said, “On Thursday,
we swore to an oath of secrecy which the party said was meant to control
the flow of information at its secretariat.
“We were also warned to stay away from
you people (journalists) and that anyone of us who fraternised with you
could be sacked without any query.
“You will recollect that a cleaner was
sacked few months ago for telling reporters that they (cleaners) were
being owed five months’ salaries. That is the kind of treatment they say
awaits some of us, including directors, if they suspect that we are
close to you people (journalists).”
But another member of staff said they
were not surprised with the attitude of the NWC members, whom he accused
of being desperate to fill the secretariat with their cronies.
“You can see their retinue of aides.
None of the former NWC members had the number of aides these present
NWC members have,” he added.
Efforts to speak with both Onwe and
the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Chief Olisa Metuh, on the
issue were not successful.
They neither picked their calls nor responded to text messages sent to their telephones
In a veiled reference to the happenings
in the party, its National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, said the
PDP needed to maintain discipline and good conduct among its members.
Tukur stated this in a statement which he signed in Abuja on Sunday.
He said the leadership of the PDP did not harbour any malice against any of its members.
It will be recalled that the party, in
the last few days, suspended two of its governors – Mr. Rotimi Amaechi
(Rivers) and Alhaji Aliyu Wamakko(Sokoto)- for what it called
insubordination.
Tukur said, “We harbour no malice
against any member. We only do not want to be a flock without a She
pard. If we are not disciplined as a party, we certainly may not be able
to produce the most progressive government in line with the greatest
expectation of every Nigerian and the rest of the world.
“The PDP government led by President Goodluck Jonathan has a good agenda founded on desire to transform Nigeria.
“The agenda has started bearing fruits.
Indeed, the PDP should lead in the implementation. We do not want to
constitute a distraction to the President’s Transformation Agenda.What
we require are absolute discipline and loyalty from every member.
“Right now, we are reorganising by way
of bringing everyone to appreciate the constitution and manifesto of the
party so that when we go into election in 2015, we can win landslide as
a family.”
Also, Metuh said in a statement that
happenings in the party in the last few weeks were part of the processes
of instilling discipline within the PDP .
He said the PDP was not unmindful of
the feelings of its members since it began to enforce discipline, hence
the need for the clarification.
Metuh said, “We assure that all the
issues will be looked into and resolved amicably in line with the spirit
of brotherliness and the guiding principles of our party.
“The PDP remains a strong, united and
democratic family guided by the principles of equity, justice, rule of
law and love for one another and will at the end of the day definitely
come out stronger than ever before.
“We therefore urge all members to close
ranks and totally disregard suggestions from enemies of our family
that some individuals or groups are being targeted for certain reasons.
“We assure all members that the PDP
remains the only national party committed to the welfare of the people
for which it will continue to win elections across board.
“It will continue to exist as the party
with structures in all wards, local governments and states in the
federation where all are free to air their views and canvass their
opinions.”
Meanwhile, leaders PDP in the North-West will on Monday (today) speak on the suspension of Wamakko.
The Vice-Chairman of the party in the
zone, Senator Ibrahim Kazaure, stated this in a telephone interview with
our correspondent on Saturday.
Kazaure said the zone would use the occasion to speak on the suspension, which he had earlier said was not acceptable to them.
The suspension was believed to have been
the outcome of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum’s chairmanship election,
which was won by Amaechi.
The Presidency was said to have been
angered by the defeat of their candidate for the office, Governor Jonah
Jang of Plateau State.
Also, governors elected on the platform of the party may meet this week to review the outcome of the NGF election.
A competent source said the meeting was
being considered to appraise the efforts of the Jang-led faction of the
NGF to gain acceptability among Nigerians.
PUNCH
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