From David Onwuchekwa, Nnewi
The Independent Leaders Forum (ILF), a forum of young People’s Democratic Party (PDP) professionals and business interests in Anambra State, has vowed to deal with any member that could jeopardise the chances of the party winning the November 6 governnorship election.
The group said it would unreservedly resist any member of the party that could sabotage the strategies the party had set into motion to win Government House, Awka, in the upcoming election.
ILF made the statement at the party’s secretariat in Awka while donating 10,000 PDP membership cards to assist in the ongoing party revalidation and registration excercise in the state, saying that it had a strong desire to take over from the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Anambra.
Donating the membership cards to PDP State Chairman Chief Ndubisi Nwobu, ILF President Mr Obinna Okafor said they were in the secretariat to show their determination to win Government House.
According to him, they would not tolerate any party member working against the PDP in the state for any reason as it happened in the past.’
‘Our mandate is to get to Agu Awka; we will put our resources and our men to actualise our dreams. Nobody born of a woman will truncate Anambra PDP movement to Government House again. Nobody again that can destroy PDP progress in Anambra state and we are determined to get to Agu Awka,’ he said.
‘All the people causing trouble in PDP, using violent and court actions to truncate the party movement to Government House cannot do it again because we will match them fire for fire and action for action . This time around they cannot use their trick to stop PDP winning the election.
‘We will counter every action they use, fire for fire , action for action. Enough of that sabotage to the party. We are ready for them this time,’ he said.
Okafor said that the last time PDP governor was in government house was in 2003 and the party leaderships disagreement had cost them the opportunity because one of the leaders testifying against the party in court.
According to him, since then the party has not been able to win the governnorship seat because of disagreements among members.
‘At every primary some body will go and get court order stopping the primary thereby creating problems and thereafter he will go out and work for another party.
‘We have had series of reconciliations and none work for us but this time we will use action for action for those who may still think they can act funny again.
‘We have met with some party chieftians like Chris Uba, Olisa Metuh and many others urging them to come together and move the party forward.
‘We hope they will come together and do the needful to move the party to Government House,’ he said.
Reacting, Nwobu said that one of the major reasons the party had not gotten to Government House over the years was due to manipulated primary.
According to him, the party primary election had always been either hijacked or candidate imposed on party followers, which he said usually created dissaffactions among members.
He vowed to conduct free and fair primary that would be accepted by all as the party did not belong to anybody today in the state.
‘We will conduct credible and transparent primary where the loosers will be proud to congratulate the winner. We must do that because we want to be in the Government House.
We will conduct a primary that will change the narrative of PDP in Anambra State,’ he concluded.