Imo PDP exco: Matters arising

Since the dissolution of the party exco in Imo State, various interest groups have expressed their views on the issue. Among them are political head – hunters and desperate political office seekers in the state who in a deliberate effort to reverse the decision of the National Working Committee (NWC) of our great Party have […]

Since the dissolution of the party exco in Imo State, various interest groups have expressed their views on the issue. Among them are political head – hunters and desperate political office seekers in the state who in a deliberate effort to reverse the decision of the National Working Committee (NWC) of our great Party have orchestrated campaign of calumny against the national leadership of the Party, including the Board of Trustees.

We have noted with grave concern the sponsored article, “OBJ, Ogbulefor: The Challenge of Leadership”, written by a self-styled political analyst, Linus Ikechukwu and published in Leadership newspaper of July 31, 2.009 (P.13) and several other newspapers. In his misrepresentation of facts and blackmail, Mr Ikechukwu insinuated that the Ogbulafor-Ied NWC has not only been unfaithful to the ideals of the party but is also corrupt. According to him, “Prince Ogbulafor and his executives have not been faithful to the ideals of the PDP; they have not been able to serve the party and the nation with all their might or to the best of their abilities. A major part of our problem since the new democratic dispensation has been that of corruption and lack of transparency in the running of our national affairs. Unfortunately, it is in this respect that the leadership of the PDP has been most wanting.”

Providing support to the allegation of corruption against the national leadership of the party, Mr Ikechukwu and his well-known sponsors merely cited a newspaper report (in National Daily of July 27-31, page 43) on the PDP in Imo state alleging that “huge sums of money were spent in mobilizing various levels of PDP leadership to ensure successful defection of Governor Ikedi Ohakim from the Peoples Progressive Alliance (PPA) to the PDP”. He further said, “On the corrupt manipulations that preceded that event, the report had it that Ohakim may have secured some assurances from the PDP national leadership before making this capital – intensive crossover.” Relying on the false, misleading and fictitious story, he concluded, “What happened in Imo state was not an isolated event. It was a graphic illustration of the corruption perpetrated by the leadership of the party in other state chapters.”

It is unfortunate that Mr Ikechukwu situated his allegation of corruption on media report. One would have expected him to provide concrete evidence, but he failed. There is no gainsaying that some sponsored media reports can be mischievous and misleading, especially when one is hunted by perceived political opponents. Permit me to provide few examples. Last year, the National Daily newspaper (National Daily, Nov. 17-21, 2008, p.46) reported that Professor Maurice Iwu and Prince Vincent Ogbulafor ,“may soon be guests of police special detectives over Party grants.”

According to the report, “the determination by the police to invite Ogbulafor and Iwu for interrogation may not be unconnected with the alleged untidy and unprofessional manner the duo handled the multi-million naira grants meant to offset the expenses of the 39 registered political parties during the April 2007 general elections.”

Unknown to the government, INEC under the leadership of Iwu had a game plan up its sleeve. Some officials of the Commission allegedly connived with the incumbent PDP Chairman to ensure that the cheques for the grants were handed over to him with the instruction to parties to collect their cheques from Ogbulafor.”

“Officials of the 39 registered political parties were allegedly coerced to part with sums ranging between N500,000.00 to a million naira before they could collect the cheques meant for their parties from Ogbulafor”, the report stated.

The question is: where was Ogbulafor in 2007? He resigned as National Secretary of the party in 2005 and emerged as the National Chairman in March 2008. What was his business with INEC? Was he an INEC official? What concerned him with INEC cheques? The publication was aimed at tarnishing the integrity of the National Chairman in the public domain who was bent on repositioning the party on the path of inclusiveness. In fact, when we drew the attention of the editor to this misleading and malicious media report, he apologized for the misrepresentation. Again, last year, a daily newspaper mischievously reported that Ogbulafor had a meeting with the former Vice President, Alh. Abubakar Atiku in Dubai, even when the last time Ogbulafor travelled to Dubai was in 2006. Also, in March this year, a popular magazine reported that Ogbulafor had a pact with governors (not to prosecute them) as a condition to return as the National Chairman during the last convention, even when the convention was non-elective. Any discerning mind may ask, “Is Ogbulafor the head of EFCC or ICPC? Many people thrive on blackmail!

Mr Ikechukwu and his cohorts could not fathom why Governor Ohakim left PPA for PDP. To them, the Governor has induced the members of the NWC financially. Unfortunately, they forgot to meditate over the words of the former

President, and Chairman of the BOT of the Party, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, who was quoted as saying at the rally, “what we are celebrating today is not just the re-entry of Governor Ohakim into the PDP. In a way, we are celebrating integrity and honour … we are celebrating promise made and promise kept… we are celebrating promise fulfilled.”

Mr Ikechukwu also alleged, “The Ogbulafor executive has generated more court cases within the POP than any other executive in the history of the POP.” By this allegation, Ikechukwu has demonstrated that he is economical with the truth. All the problems being handled by the present NWC are problems they inherited from their predecessors.

It is evident that Ikechukwu and his likes are professional blackmailers and rumour-mongers whose intention clearly is to present the National Chairman and his administration in bad light. Personal ambition should not drive one to cheap blackmail and mudslinging.

Edmons Chijioke Adindu wrote from Abuja