ATIKU'S WRONG MOVE
Two prominent Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftains in Adamawa State, Prof. Jibril Aminu and Comrade Bafyau have expressed surprise why ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar sought re-entry into the party through the Meden Teneke faction and the state.
Aminu and Bafyau in separate interviews with Daily Sun in Yola, argued that Atiku was perpetrating 'illegality and illegibility' by not re-joining the party through their Kugama faction.
Senator Aminu said the contention of most PDP members in the state was that Atiku sued the party to court, contested against PDP at the general election and decided to use the circumstance of President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua's ill-health to seek re-entry into the party so as to use the platform to contest the presidency of the country in 2011.
He also alleged that the former vice president flagrantly abused the rule of the party in many ways and failed to show remorse for his past lapses and had further compounded his problems by obtaining registration to the party through Teneke group.
Aminu said his re-entry into the PDP should be done with decorum and higher degree of obedience to the constitution of the party, which gave premium to grassroots party politics at the ward and local government levels.
He alleged that Atiku had succeeded to create turmoil in the party that is not good for person of his calibre that claimed to have acquired wealth of experiences in politics and internal democracy in the party he belongs to.
Aminu, however, advised the former Vice President to adhere strictly to the rules of the PDP constitution and to subject himself to the leadership of the party at his ward level.
'Atiku is yet to enter the party. He should dismantle the faction he created. I Am not saying that he will never enter the party, but that he is yet to enter PDP because he failed to follow due process to enter the party through the authentic party structure at his Yelli Ward''.
Similarly former president of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Bafyau regretted that an experienced politician of Atiku's caliber could seek re entry through the Teneke faction:
'I am sincerely surprised with Atiku seeking re entry through the Teneke group. If he has a genuine intention of joining the party he should go to his ward and get registered there instead of getting registered through a group that is not recognized by the National Secretariat'.
On the clamour in the party to dissolve the Kugama led faction of the party in the state, Bafyau said that the PDP National Secretariat has not pronounced his faction illegal neither has Chief Vincent Ogbulafor said that the Exco is dissolved.
'It is his fundamental right to associate with any party of his chioce but due process should be followed,' he said.
Former governor Boni Haruna, Bafyau argued, had waited patiently to asses the political situation in the state before he eventually decided to join the PDP, but through the authentic party platform which is the Kugama-led Exco.
While he frowned at Atiku's re-entry into the party, Bafyau said that it would have been more formidable for him to remain in the Action Congress (AC), as a strong opposition party that would in turn strengthen democracy in Nigeria.
He questioned why Atiku should be wasting his influential status, wealth on both the ruling party PDP and the opposition at the same time, while he has the opportunity of showing that he is a matured politician by sticking to either the ruling party or the opposition party.
On the recent appearances of seven out of 10 2007 PDP gubernatorial aspirants within the Chief Medan Teneke faction, Bafyau said while they have right to association with any group as provided by 1999 constitution, he however frowned that it would exacerbate the crisis in Adamawa PDP.
According to Bafyau who is also a 2007 governorship aspirant in Adamawa State mere associating with a faction that is not recognized by the PDP national Secretariat, depicted that they were not members of the PDP as PDP national leadership rested the authenticity of the party to the Kugama led leadership and not Teneke led PDP in Adamawa State.
When contacted on phone by Daily Sun, for comments, the Principal Media Assistant to the former Vice President, Mallam Garba Shehu, stated that they should critically look at the political development of the country via the emergence of the Acting President Goodluck Jonathan who has decided to broker peace among aggrieved PDP members and chieftains, who is not happy seeing the polity being overcharged and trying to bring all political stakeholders together irrespective of their different political persuasions.
He said the emergence of the Acting President has changed the political scenario of the country, hence the need for Nigerians especially those that are catalysts for the political development of the country to join hands with him.
According to him, the discussion for the return of the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to the ruling People's Democratic Party, has been on for over two years, and nobody can pretend that the emergence of Jonathan has changed the political atmosphere of the country, hence the need for Nigerians, including the political class to join hands with him to establish a country of our dream.