By Onyebuchi Ezigbo and Shola Oyeyipo
The ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been advised to “worry about the decaying carcass in its front yard before complaining that the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has a speck of dirt on its thumb.”
The Special Adviser, Media to former Lagos State governor and national leader of the ACN, Senator Bola Tinubu, Mr. Sunday Dare, who made the statement yesterday in a reaction to a press statement by PDP acting National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Tony Okeke, said he would be out of job if he gives his party such an advice.
The PDP spokesperson had advised Tinubu against the decision to endorse the Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, as the party’s governorship candidate to seek a second term come the 2014 election.
But the ACN in its reaction noted that: “With all the troubles facing the government and the ruling party, the acting national publicity secretary of that outfit took the time to lodge a complaint about ACN national leader, Bola Tinubu, exercising his right as a citizen and party leader to endorse Fayemi as the party’s governorship nominee so that he might seek a second term come the 2014 election in that state.
“The PDP voice box sounded off that it was wicked and undemocratic of Tinubu to state his opinion on a matter concerning the party to which Tinubu belongs.
“We dare say if Okeke tendered such advice to his party leaders that the vociferous man would rapidly find himself among the growing number of jobless Nigerians walking the streets due to the errant policies of his party,” Dare stated.
According to him, since Tinubu is a Nigerian citizen, he has the perfect right to express his opinion on political matters and to endorse whom he may endorse for the position of the ACN nominee for the Ekiti State governorship.
“In due course, Asiwaju will surely endorse whom he would for other elective positions across the country in full exercise of his fundamental rights.
“Hence, the ACN maintained that Okeke is better of resigning himself to minding his own house, “before complaining about the lone fly at our backdoor. He should worry about the decaying carcass in their front yard.”
Meanwhile, ACN in condemning the military takeover of government in Egypt last week, described the action as a blow to democracy.
ACN hailed the African Union (AU) for suspending Egypt’s membership of the continental body in the wake of the coup, saying it shows that it (AU) is serious about the adherence to its Constitutive Act, which prohibited an unconstitutional change of government.
It also said the federal government did the right thing by promptly condemning the action of the Egyptian military and calling for the immediate restoration of democracy in the North African country.
In a statement issued Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said notwithstanding the popularity of the public protests that led the military to make the change, what happened in Egypt was a coup d’état which should be condemned.
”Democracy remains the best form of government known to man, and in order to grow it, it must be nurtured. But if every time there are protests in a democracy, the military moves in to effect a change of government, then democracy will never grow, ” said the party.
The ACN said while many Britons and Americans disagreed with their governments over the Iraq war and held several public protests to vent their disappointment, that did not cause the military in both countries to push their democratically-elected governments out of power, as was the case in Egypt.
It further recalled that during the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s illness, the party (ACN) and a number of civil society groups insisted that the constitution should be followed, as many in Yar’Adua’s inner caucus plotted endlessly for him to hold on to power, even when it became clear that he could no longer function effectively.
”Democracy has some universal tenets, which include the fact that free and fair election is the only means of getting to power and the only way of losing it. This means that even if people make a wrong choice, they are stuck with it until the next elections, unless in countries where you have a recall mechanism. Some may describe this as a drawback, but there can be no other way if democracy is to be properly practised,” it said.
The party argued that while many in Egypt may not like the Muslim Brotherhood or be happy with the government of President Mohammed Morsi, the fact remains that they both won an election that was globally adjudged to be free and fair.
The party, however, expressed the hope that Egyptians would allow democracy to thrive in their country by eschewing the kind of change recently brought about by their military at the expense of the country’s democratically-elected government.
Source: Thisdaylive
