PDP convention: Group alleges plot to mar exercise
On March 23, 2012 · In News
BY TONY EDIKE
ENUGU – AS arrangements for tomorrow’s National Convention of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, are being concluded, a group, the South East Integrity Group, SEIG, yesterday alerted the party’s national leadership of plans by some politicians to mar the exercise by engaging in acts totally alien to the provisions of the party’s constitution.
The group specifically raised an alarm over alleged sinister plans by some people to smuggle in fictitious names of persons not cleared by the party leadership for purpose of contesting the March 24 National Convention of PDP.
This was contained in a statement addressed to the chairman of the party’s National Convention Planning Committee and signed by SEIG’s Chairman and Secretary, Chief Arthur Okolonna and Sunny Ezeh respectively.
The group alleged that: “It has come to our notice that someone who neither bought nor submitted nomination form for the purpose of contesting any offices in the forthcoming convention, has concluded hideous plans to smuggle in his name into the list of candidates for the elections.”
SEIG further noted that some of the people planning to mar the convention had allegedly “settled and bought the convention planning committee” in order to ensure that they realised their set-out objectives”.
“The person in question is intending to actualize this sinister plan making use of these unscrupulous Anambra politicians who he planted as members of the convention planning committee. It is a known fact that National convention planning committee is a creation of the party. It will be a travesty if a part becomes greater than whole.
“The convention planning committee which the person claims to have control of does not have power to qualify persons who had earlier been disqualified by the party on grounds of fraud. Does it mean that PDP national working committee is struggling for supremacy with the convention planning committee which it created? Wonders shall never end.
”We are ready to supply you with the names of these lackeys that were planted into the committee for the sole purpose of doing this ugly job. If these desperate politicians are not checked on time, their antics will surely infringe on the integrity of the entire convention.
“For instance, who would have imagined that as aspirant to the office of national publicity secretary of our great party would obtain nomination form for such office through fraud and dishonesty. Fortunately, this fraud was detected by PDP hence the fraudsters name was not included in the list of cleared candidates published by the party.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the office of National Publicity Secretary of any political party or indeed any sane organization should not be occupied by persons who are known fraudsters.
“It does not bear repetition that a man who sees nothing wrong in obtaining nomination form fraudulently after the period allowed by the party for purchasing of nomination forms and smuggled in same through the back door is surely a fraudster.
”Since the office of National Publicity Secretary of a political party represents the image of the party, your guess is as good as mine if a fraudster should be vested with such office,” the letter read in parts.
The group urged the convention planning committee chairman to use his good office to ensure that these “desperados” did not succeed in their hideous plan of destroying the integrity of the entire convention
