…As PDM Fights Back
BEVERLY HILLS, CA, November 13, (THEWILL) – Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees (BoT), Chief Tony Anenih, on Wednesday moved against the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) describing its registration as a political party as an attempt to weaken the PDP.
Speaking at a meeting of founding fathers and members of the Elders’ Committee of the PDM in Abuja, Anenih said those who registered PDM as a political party have stolen their name for ignoble purpose, insisting that PDM remains a pressure group within the PDP.
But PDM stakeholders have condemned the move by PDP leadership to block PDM registration as a party.
In a statement, titled Who Is Afraid Of PDM?, issued on Wednesday, the stakeholders said those who don’t want to join PDM are free not to but they should perish the thought of using PDM again to negotiate political appointments. They also dissociated themselves from the Wednesday meeting and from any attempt to create the impression of the existence of any PDM group outside the political party registered under the law.
They insisted that the existence of two PDMs is the figment of the imagination of those who are playing out a PDP script, saying time has come for those who truly believe in PDM to take a stand, stressing that to insist on being a member of PDP and PDM at the same time amounts to fraud.
Calling on members of the Movement to ensure that the fortune of PDM as a political party is reversed, Anenih said: “I am sure that you are all aware that some people have managed to get a political party registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) with the same name as our own organisation. This poses a very grievous challenge to our existence.
“It is obvious that those who have “stolen” our name to register a so-called political party do not mean well for our organisation or the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) within which we have operated distinctly and effectively in the last 14 years. Their aim is, obviously, to ride on our goodwill to attract members out of the PDP, with the purpose of weakening or even destroying the party.
“Our concern, therefore, about this so-called political party, is not just about the fact that these people have stolen our name, but, more importantly, that their intentions are far from noble. They seek to weaken the PDP and undermine its electoral capability,” he said.
According to him, “We have a responsibility to stop these people as we are loyal and committed members of the PDP. Although, we have maintained our identity as a pressure group within the party these past years, we are proud to say that there has never been any clash between our PDM affiliation and our PDP membership.
“Another major source of concern is the manner in which party registration was given to those who are now parading themselves as the PDM. There was no public notice, as would have been expected, announcing their intention and application for registration as a political party. If there had been such a public notice, we would have evidently articulated our opposition to the application and pre-empted their scheme.
“Also, there is no evidence that the so-called party had offices in the required number of States before it was registered, I reckon that this meeting of Elders and Founding Fathers of PDM will, as a body, rise up to the occasion by fashioning a definitive course of action, in line with the resolutions already reached by our zonal chapters that they remain part and parcel of the PDP.
“Our meeting today, therefore, must proffer creative, profound and legitimate ways of redressing the anomaly of the registration of the name, PDM, as a political party. We must rescue the PDM and ensure that it retains its original intent and identity. We must not allow those who were neither party to the formation nor, at any time, central to its activities, hijack our identity for their selfish and negative ends.”.
The chairman of the PDM, as a pressure group, Senator Abubakar Mahdi said, “To date, no member of either the Founding Father nor the Management Committee has seen any document to that effect in the registration of PDM as a political party”, stating . “Clearly therefore, there was a hidden agenda somewhere.”
He also lamented that the pressure group has been sidelined, but hoped that Anenih would turn things around for the group.
“No doubt the PDM has been sidelined in the current dispensation and that there is an urgent need for repositioning. I want to believe that our only man standing, the PDP BOT Chairman is capable of re-fixing us into our country’s politics,” Mahdi said.
He also called for an end to the crisis rocking the PDP, as the PDM as a major stakeholder in PDP feels challenged by the crisis.
Mahdi pleaded with PDP leaders to intervene in order to find a lasting solution to the problems.
According to him, “We strongly feel that holding opposing views in a democracy is not the problem but failure to resolve it by leaders becomes the major challenge.
“Furthermore, please permit me to report that our teaming members across the nation are agitated and if nothing is done to rebuild confidence immediately, their continued outstanding loyalty may be impaired.”
The meeting was attended a cross section of founding leaders of the Movement, among who were Chief Tony Anenih, Farouk Abdulazeez who chaired the meeting, Hon. Dubem Onyia, Senator Ifeanyi Ararume, Alhaji Murtala Yar’Adua, and Hon Chris Agbobu.
Meanwhile, PDM stakeholders have condemned the move by PDP leadership to block PDM registration as a party. In a statement, titled Who Is Afraid Of PDM?, issued on Wednesday, the stakeholders said those who don’t want to join PDM are free not to but they should perish the thought of using PDM again to negotiate political appointments.
The statement read : ”Our attention has been drawn to the plan by some members of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, under the direction of the Chairman of PDP Board of Trustees, to call a meeting of “PDM Stakeholders” in Abuja on November 13th, 2013 to take a stand on the registration of Peoples Democratic Movement, PDM.
”We further learnt that the purpose of the meeting is to reject the registration PDM as a political party on the purported ground that enough consultations were not made before the registration was agreed upon. We understand that those members of the organization who prefer to stay in PDP are aggrieved that PDM has jumped the sinking ship to become a political party in its own right.
”Now that 2015 is around the corner, they want to use PDM again to feather their nest and sustain a decade-old fraud to remain politically relevant. We are aware a number of those associated with the meeting have fallen on hard times while others are being misinformed and misled. We urge them to seek out the truth and reflect and not rush to judgment. We urge them not to compromise their principles for a pittance and soil their name.
” While we respect the right of individuals to decide for themselves how and with whom they wish to associate, we reject the idea that some can dictate to others how and with whom they can to associate. This is the first time in the political history of Nigeria that members of one political party will constitute themselves into a conclave to determine that another political party has no right to exist. That some people will insist they own the exclusive franchise to the PDM brand to the exclusion of everybody else is not only undemocratic and arrogant but it is also against the letter and spirit of our Constitution which guarantees every citizen the right to freely associate.
”PDM is not an exclusive club for the highly privileged and, certainly, not the property of any individual no matter how highly placed. As a registered political party, PDM is open to every Nigerian who wishes to join, including those who deny involvement in its registration out of cowardice. To be a political party had always been the dream of PDM’s founding fathers as opposed to opportunists who want to cling to the name and use it only when it serves their selfish interests. Those who don’t want to join PDM are free not to but they should perish the thought of using us again to negotiate political appointments.
”The history of PDM is like that of several other organisations, with its fair share of ups and downs. In the last one decade PDM as an organisation, had become comatose, if not dead. About two years ago, a group of younger elements within the organisation it and eventually voted to pull out of Peoples Democratic Party and register it as a political party in order to open it up to all Nigerians who wish to join. Some people have alleged that the organisation took the initiative, following wide consultations, to breathe life into have not been consulted before this was done. What we would like to know is, do those making this claim have a higher stake in PDM than us? Is PDM a secret club or is it only an instrument for feathering some members’ nest? Why is anyone afraid that PDM is now open to all Nigerians instead of to a very small group? Where were these self-appointed PDM leaders all this time when the organisation and its members fell on hard times? Why didn’t we hear their voice or see them meet before now, for over a decade?
”To now call a congregation of aggrieved PDP members who never spoke about PDM in the last one decade, other than when they seek favours in its name, to decide the fate of a political party other than the one to which they belong, is not only ridiculous but it is also arrogant. Those who wish to stay inside the PDP to pursue their political career and interests are free to do so but they must not impose their preference on everybody else. Those who wish to belong to the past are free to do so but they must not try to hinder those who wish to move on. As a political party, PDM is a legal entity registered under the law. PDP members have no right to congregate in order to decide its fate. The days of imposition are over. That is precisely why PDM and PDP had to part ways.
”Nor is the argument that PDM was founded to be a pressure group true. It is inexplicable that any genuine and serious member of PDM could make such a claim. In its various forms, PDM had sought registration as a political party twice, first as PFN in 1989 and as PDM in 1995. On both occasions, our aspiration to become a political party was very strong but it was callously denied by the military. A genuine member of PDM who is not playing out any other person’s script should be thankful to those who were able to register it as a political party after failure to do so twice in the last twenty five years. For some of us, this is a dream come true. Those who claim to be elders should stop ridiculing themselves.
”We the undersigned wish to dissociate ourselves from the meeting of November 13th and from any attempt to create the impression of the existence of any PDM group outside the political party registered under the law. The existence of two PDMs is the figment of the imagination of those who are playing out a PDP script. Time has come for those who truly believe in PDM to take a stand. To insist on being a member of PDP and PDM at the same time amounts to fraud. We call on security and law enforcement agencies to take note and do their job before this sponsored mischief gets out of hand. ”
