Opposition parties and the Save Nigeria Group on Friday described the crisis in the People’s Democratic Party as a sign of its imminent disintegration.
In separate interviews with our correspondents, they said the divisions in the PDP as well as Friday’s removal of its National Secretary, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, by a Federal High Court in Abuja, was not unusual, given the opposing interests of its leaders.
Spokesman for the Congress for Progressive Change, Mr. Rotimi Fashakin, said on the telephone that the PDP was “a congregation of economic hitmen and women.”
He said the problems bedeviling the PDP could be traced to its “decrepit and utterly languid foundation.”
He added, “The party is not structured on an ideological belief of using politics as a tool for economic emancipation of the Nigerian people and the nation.
“You may also look at the antecedents of its members and the common thread is that the party is a congregation Economic hit men and women that are out to feather their nests at the expense of the people.”
According to him, all problems currently facing the PDP could be traced to selfish interests.
He stated, “The internal hemorrhage of the PDP is necessary nay imperative for Nigeria and its people to have a good and clean break from the destructive politics of the party.
“They had hitherto congregated to wage a war, through the unprogressive governance of Nigeria, on the people. Let their fight go on.
“We are not surprised. Like a Yoruba proverb, it is the same bad motive that has brought them together that will scatter them.”
National Chairman, Action Congress of Nigeria, Chief Bisi Akande, on Friday, described the PDP as “a party in perpetual turmoil.”
Akande said “election rigging and sharing of national cake” are the only factors that bind the PDP together.
He said Oyinlola, who succeeded him as Osun State governor in 2003 and was subsequently sacked by a court on November 26, 2010, benefitted from a flawed process.
He said it was the same way a former governor of Ekiti State, Mr. Segun Oni, was ousted by the Court of Appeal in October 2010.
“Nigerians witnessed how the PDP came together during the oil subsidy removal crisis and frustrated Nigerians.
“Illegality, impunity and lack of respect for due process are key to PDP operations. That’s why Mr. Segun Oni was removed by the court and thus Oyinlola’s removal was not unexpected.
“Both Oyinlola and Oni were products of the same illegal South-West PDP congress, which the court has nullified.”
Acting Chairman, Osun ACN, Mr. Adebiyi, predicted that the PDP would crumble under the weight of the crisis bedevilling it.
He said, “The PDP is synonymous with violence, crisis and disunity. This is the beginning of the disintegration of the party.”
SNG spokesman, Yinka Odumakin, said on the telephone that he was not surprised at the crisis in the party.
He said, “The Peoples Democratic Party is not a political party. Dr. Patrick Wilmot once said the PDP is like a criminal organisation. It is not different from a group of armed robbers who are united before an operation; they plan and execute the operation together but fight when it is time to share the loot. They are looting Nigeria and are fighting over the sharing the proceeds of their loot.”
The activist said that those in the political party were not after the interest of Nigeria.
“Everyone in the party is after what they would get out of Nigeria. None of them in the party is fighting for Nigeria; they are just fighting for their pockets and what they can get out of the nation,” Odumakin added.
via Punch
