PDP Crisis: Party failed to adhere to its own constitution-BKO

A member of the Board of Trustees, Peoples Democratic Party, and a former minister of health professor A.B.C Nwosu resigned his membership of the party on the grounds that the party disregarded its power rotation and zoning principle.

A.B.C Nwosu said the resignation for him was a matter of CONSCIENCE and PRINCIPLE because of the party’s inability to adhere to the rotation provision in its (PDP) Constitution.

”The journey to the rotational presidency between the North and South of Nigeria has been a long and arduous one, and I have been involved. Nigeria and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) must learn to keep to an agreement reached by a Constituent Assembly (1995) and enshrined in the party’s (PDP) Constitution (1998),” he said in the resignation letter.

It’s barely 41 days to election and PDP is still emerged in this crisis.

In his reaction, Veteran Journalist, Babajide Kolade-Otitoju speaking on Saturday’s edition of IssuesWithJide said this is happening due to the selfishness of some individuals in the party as the party failed to adhere to its own Constitution.

He said the PDP governors should be ashamed of themselves that despite the fact that they are in overwhelming majority in the PDP, it took the APC that has far more Northern governance than Southern Governors to push for power to shift from the North to the South to ensure that a candidate from Southern Nigeria became the presidential standard bearer of the APC.

The governors told the president in plain language that their choice was someone from the south and people like governor El-Rufai who had been pushing for power to go back to the South after 8 years of a Northerner of Fulani origin in office as far as they are concerned, it made moral sense for power to go back to the South after eight years of president Muhammadu buhari who is from Katsina and a Fulani.

The governors from Southern Nigeria despite being an overwhelming majority could not get their party to do what was right, could not get their party to align itself with its Constitution.

“I would have disputed if someone had told me that the Northern governors, who have a clear majority in the APC, would be the ones to fight for power to shift and insist that their party’s standard bearer come from the South.

“Because they didn’t want to offend some people within the party, such as Atiku Abubakar, who is desperate to be President of Nigeria, the Southern governors in the PDP let themselves down, and the party let itself down, they chose to allow the presidential ticket to be contested by both North and Southern candidates.

“Before, the party members who are pushing for this to be zoned to the South but suddenly the neck of the party decided to throw it open all because they wanted to please people like Tambuwal, Bukola Saraki and other gladiators who who wanted to contest the presidential ticket of the party.

“They put their party in a crisis because they wanted to please Atiku Abubakar, Saraki and others.

Speaking further, Mr Kolade-Otitoju said ideally the ticket will have been zoned to the South because that was the right thing to do as that was what the governors of the APC who are largely from the North pushed for and in the end they succeeded in having the first, second and the third placed candidates.

“Whatever happens, a Southerner will contest the presidency under the Umbrella of the APC, this was what the PDP failed to do and to show how selfish some individuals are in the PDP, the national chairman Iyiorcha Ayu refused to give up his position despite promising earlier that if a Northerner should win the ticket that he will give up that position but he held on to the position even at the risk of losing five governors.

“We have now seen how somebody very close to Atiku, ABC Nwosu, resigning from the party and sending his resignation letter to both Ayu and the acting chairman of the BOT of the party, Adolf Wabara, saying that political parties must honour the content of their constitution and agreements reached.

“In saying that they must honour agreements reached, he was referring to Iyiorcha Ayu, the sit tight National chairman of the PDP.

BKO quoted Mr Nwosu as saying ” Nigeria and the PDP must learn to keep to an agreement reached by a constituent assembly 1995 and enshrine in the PDP Constitution 1998″.

The renowned journalist stated that after eight years of President Muhammadu Buhari, a Fulani man, authority should be transferred to another section of the country so that everyone feels this country belongs to us and we will all jump in to ensure that we contribute to its growth and development.

However, concentrating power in one area of the country will only lead to bad blood and will not serve the purpose of uniting the country.