- Proposes automatic tickets for President, governors, others
- Says NGF crisis would soon be resolved
Chairman of the Board of Trustees, BoT, of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Tony Anenih, has proposed automatic second term tickets to sitting president and governors, who have performed creditably in office.
Speaking in Abuja at a dinner organised at the instance of President Goodluck Jonathan with select leaders of the party drawn from the federal and state levels, Anenih said that he did not see any difficulty in the PDP extending the gesture to President Jonathan to serve a second term if he so desired. He also suggested the extension of the same gesture to performing members of the National Assembly, even though their tenure or number of terms they can enjoy is not circumscribed by the Nigerian Constitution.
His words: "I do not see anything wrong, if the PDP considers automatic tickets for the President and its governors who have performed well and are seeking for a second term. It is my view that with the outstanding performance of President Jonathan in the areas of power, rail and water transportation, road construction, aviation reforms, education, agriculture, job creation, etc., the party should not find it difficult in granting him the opportunity to serve a second term, if he so desires."
Annenih, a former Minister of Works, said that his proposition was made against the backdrop of the incidents of rancour and disunity that have always attended the party's primaries. He added: "Since this gathering is all-embracing and fully representative of our party membership nationwide, I would like to repeat what I said in Asaba about our party primaries.
"I did say that, over the years, our primaries have been the most serious sources of rancour and disunity in our ranks, and, that we usually invest so much resources and energy fighting ourselves in the primaries that should have gone into the larger battle against our political rivals.
"I had admonished that we could not continue this tradition of internal warfare and hope that we would have enough energy left to win elections," he stated. He said he had consequently proposed the evolvement of a new system of selecting flag-bearers at the presidential and governorship levels that would preserve the party's unity and reserve its energy and resources for the greater battle for political power.
"The proposed arrangement would, I believe, help to forestall frictions and acrimony in the nomination process, in the overall interest of our party and the nation," he noted. Anenih while stressing the need for unity in PDP called for collective commitment to reposition the party.
He also advised that the leadership crisis in the Nigeria Governors' Forum (NGF) revolving around two governors-Jonah Jang and Rotimi Amaechi-on the party platform should be urgently addressed. According to him, "As party leaders, we must collectively commit ourselves, more than ever, to work selflessly and tirelessly, so as to reposition the Party. We must seek to promote unity and enforce discipline.
Consider the case of the Nigerian Governors Forum where there are now two chairmen, both members of the PDP. This is an embarrassing situation which must be urgently addressed. The supremacy of the party must be recognized and enforced. "The leadership of the Party will not tolerate a situation where it will preside over a divided house.
If we expect the PDP house to stand the test of time, to withstand and overcome the storms and crises being fuelled by the opposition parties, we must be united, focused, decisive and dedicated to a common cause." The BoT chairman also condemned what he called the "persistent negative profiling of the administration of President Jonathan" and urged PDP leaders to rally round and unite behind the president in the task of nation-building.
"The opposition has been relentless in churning out damaging propaganda about this administration for the purpose of destabilizing it. It is sad that a few members of our party are accomplices of this evil mechanization. I enjoin all of us to assist in promoting the policies and projects of the Jonathan administration.
"Our historical and political experience demands that we give President Jonathan the maximum cooperation to succeed in transforming this country into a stable and prosperous industrial nation. If we do not cherish and sell our good product, nobody will help us to sell it."
National Mirror