From Joe Effiong, Uyo
PDP Advocates for Peace and Justice (PAPAJ), a group in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), has condemned media publications by another party group, the PDP Collectives, for trying to blame the national legal adviser of the party, Mr Emmanuel Enoidem, for the curent leadership crisis in the party.
The group urged Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde to tame those it referred to as political ‘herders’ by caging its leadership or sponsoring them on refresher courses on how to maintain democratic decorum and principles instead of South-wWest Nigeria giving the problems in the PDP an ethnic colouration.
In a press statement signed by the Chairman and the Secretary of the group, Tom FredFish and Eneh John, respectively, made available to newsmen in Uyo on Tuesday, the group said its members would not sit and watch what it called a ‘faceless group attempt to destroy the legacies of our party through a sponsored hatched job.’
The group also warned that it would not allow the hard earned reputation of the National Legal Adviser of the party, Barr Emmanuel Enoidem, to be cast into an abyss on his attempt to maintain sanctity of law and order in the party.
It advised the South-West Zone and the Lagos State chapter of the PDP to look inwards and identify its problems rather than look for a scape goat in the National Working Committee of the party.
The statement read:
‘We read with utter disbelief, a press release by a group of interlopers under the name “PDP collectives” published in several media platforms and signed by one Professor Tejumade Akitoye-Rhodes, that the professional and exemplary role played by the PDP National Legal Adviser, Barr. Emmanuel Enoidem to sustain PDP’s rightful position as the true and foremost democratic party in Nigeria, will destroy the PDP.
‘We are saddened that such statement emanated from a group headed by a professor who should know better that, the PDP manned by the current NWC has gone beyond clannishness and petty politicking to a stickler for the rule of law and respect for the fundamental principles of the founding fathers of the party based on the sanctity of the rights and freedom of its members to seek justice when they feel hurt.
‘The pre-Uche Secondus PDP era witnessed some level of lack of internal democracy, where authoritarianism such as the one that the PDP collectives is advocating for, deepened crisis of internal democracy signposing the authoritarian character of the then ruling PDP which was one of the reasons for its ouster by the APC in 2015.
‘We are, therefore, worried that the likes of PDP collectives lurking around for how to destroy the party has not learnt any lessons from the errors of the past.
‘We submit that the action of the PDP NLA in this matter is nothing short of heroic for trying to maintain the sanctity of the party, hence should be applauded by all lovers of equity and justice.’
The group reiterated that the National Legal Adviser of the PDP is a loyal party man who has served the party both at the state and national level meritoriously. Saying it was laughable for a group of political ‘herders’ to accuse the NLA of indulging in activities that will undermine or destroy the party.