‘PDP7’ manifestation of a party’s culture of corruption – BMO

By BASHIR ADEFAKA

The Buhari Media Organisation (BMO) has described the latest crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as a manifestation of the inherent corruption in the party’s rank and file.

In a statement signed by its Chairman Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary Cassidy Madueke, and copy of which was sent to The DEFENDER, BMO said the resignation of the party’s seven national officers is a confirmation of the ingrained corruption and the lack of transparency that PDP has always been known for.

“The unfolding news of the mass resignation of PDP national officers on the ground of lack of financial transparency should not have come as a surprise to people who have followed the party’s trajectory over the years.

“This is a party that, as a governing party for 16 years, had a reputation for grand larceny which some of its founding leaders were not proud of, and for which it was kicked out of power in 2015.

“It is instructive that a key element of the complaint against the Uche Secondus-led PDP national executive is that the deputies were not always carried along in the sharing of what was received from Governors elected on the party’s platform.

“Nigerians should note how this same party was the butt of jokes to the extent that its slogan became the subject of internet memes, mimicking the culture of ‘sharing the money’ that PDP was known for as a ruling party.

“Judging from what the ‘PDP 7’ said in their notice of resignation, nothing appeared to have changed as the party that shared everything in sight, including funds that were twice raised for its national headquarters building when it was in power, has not stopped its looting spree even in the opposition.

“Like many Nigerians, we had thought that six years out of power would be enough time for the party to have had a period of soul-searching, but we clearly did not take the local adage about a leopard and its spots into consideration”.

BMO added that PDP has continued to act in a way that is an embarrassment to the country’s political system in the last 20 years.

“We have a situation where a major political party has recorded mass resignations of national officers and the impending exit of no fewer than 10 members of the National Working Committee (NWC).

“This is indeed unprecedented and we have not been able to find, in any part of the country’s political history, where anything like this happened, whether in recent memory or in the past.

“We can easily recall that this same party lost three governors in the last six months to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on the basis of poor leadership and corruption tendencies but chose to blame everyone aside from itself for its loss.

“And just like it’s usual arrogant manner the former PDP leadership responded to the defection of some of its Governors in the run up to the 2015 elections, the current one has also dismissed the resignation of its national officials as a non-issue.

“This is the same party that one of its key leaders derogatorily described the national executive as a group of tax collectors, in apparent reaction to a series of visits to a particular governor and yet there was no proper response to the suggestive allegation.

“It is against this backdrop that one can easily conclude that a party that cannot properly manage its internal processes, should not be trusted to return to power at the centre in 2023”.

BMO urged Nigerians to consider consigning PDP finally to the dustbin of history to prevent further embarrassment to the country’s politics.