ACN Cautions Nwodo Over Utterances

ABUJA, Nov 16, (THEWILL) - The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has cautioned PDP National Chairman Okwesilieze Nwodo over his utterances, saying he risks talking himself into irrelevance and becoming a butt of jokes if he continues to tread on the path of flippancy.

In a statement issued in Lagos today by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the latest of such utterances, attributed to the PDP Chairman and yet undenied, in which he said the result of the Delta re-run would show the opposition not to contest the 2011 general elections, was particularly in bad taste.

''As the Chairman of the ruling party, Nwodo's utterances should be such that can deepen democracy and engender respect for his office in particular and politicians in general. Unfortunately, the opposite has been the case so far.

''If he is not unjustly accusing the judiciary of relying on forged documents to deliver judgements in election petition cases, he is disparaging the opposition. Well, he should know that there can be no democracy without a virile opposition,'' ACN said.

On whether or not the opposition parties should contest the 2011 general elections, the party said the PDP Chairman can continue to wallow in his delusion of grandeur over his party's invincibility at the polls.

''The truth is that it is the PDP, rather that the opposition parties, that should be worried over next year's polls. If the PDP chairman will be truthful to himself and his party, he will know that the signs out there are not good for the PDP, which has wasted the over 10 years of democratic rule and made Nigerians worse than they were before 1999.

''It is interesting that only Nwodo has not seen how serious-minded politicians are jostling to bail out of the sinking ship that the PDP has become. And their destinations are the same opposition parties that the PDP chairman is disparaging,'' ACN said.