….says “We are not in talks with Jonathan”
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, on Wednesday, said only 100% loyalty will be tolerated from every member of the party who wishes to remain in the party.
This is just as the party debunked reports that it was wooing former President Goodluck Jonathan and Peter Obi back to the party ahead of the 2027 general election.
Debo Ologuagba, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, NPS, stated this while briefing Journalists at the party’s Secretariat, Abuja.
“Loyalty is a personal thing and when you’re in a party like this, we have said we demand it. If at any point we find out that you don’t give it, the constitution will kick in. I addressed that earlier.
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“We demand 100% loyalty from our members. We have issued that statement. That statement is working. That’s our position today.”
The party also insisted that the National Legal Adviser has been directed by the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) to recover the seats of those who defected from the national Assembly.
” We took that decision as a party, we directed the legal adviser to take steps to retrieve those positions, because constitutionally they’ve lost it by reason of their defection when there’s no division in our party.
“But there are concerns that some of the matters are in court. If they’re in court, they’re in court. We can’t do self-help.
“We don’t have the capacity to seize a local government fund to coerce a governor not to defect. We don’t have the capacity. And we won’t do that anyway, but we have taken the appropriate action.
“The highest decision-making body of the party, other than the National Convention, had directed, and that action has been taken at the appropriate level, which is the National Legal Adviser.
He insisted that the PDP has not, and will not even take conditions from anybody.
The NPS, while also responding to claims that it has failed to act on the recommendation of the Disciplinary Committee, said, ” Politics is not a zero-sum game.
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He said, “Sometimes you swallow bitter pills and then move ahead. We as a party have resolved in line with our capacity, to take care of challenges because it’s not a zero-sum game. You win some, you lose some. That’s what we’re good at: reconciliation.
“There are multiple conversations going on. There are people you can talk to in PDP, there are people you can talk to in churches, and there are people you can talk to in the marketplace. What we have done is to do a multiple approach to reconciliation.
“We have discussed at different levels, and we are determined. And that was demonstrated as the National Executive Committee.
“We have a process. We have a constitution. We’re going to obey it. We’re going to follow through. We’re not confrontational. We’re not fighting. But we will respect our processes.
“We will respect our institutions. We will respect our organs. We will follow through, work together in the interest of the party one, in the interest of democracy and in the interest of Nigerians”.
He also debunked claims that the party was discussing with former President Goodluck Jonathan and Peter Obi, the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party LP, in 2023, adding that” In our party today, we have a great prospect of presidential candidates. I have mentioned governors now and what they’ve done.
“But I tell you this, today, this party has many very qualified, exceedingly qualified, performing governors that can set up the place to become President of this country. So the question you’re asking me, Jonathan, is contesting, ask him. I don’t speak for President Jonathan. You go ask him. You have access to him, I know. So ask him. It’s not for me to speculate. That’s your imagination.
“I don’t know why you’re asking that question. Ask Obi, who is talking to him?
The NPS, which noted that membership of the Party is voluntary, added that ” There’s an easy entry, easy exit. What we will not take is disloyalty to this party. What we are asking for is an absolute 100% loyalty. That’s what we demand from our members.
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“So if anybody wants to leave the party, which we hope they don’t, because it will be a voyage of no discovery, they should rather stay back here, because this is the only political party where you can achieve your goals and aspirations in politics.
“90% of those that are gone, of course, had their tutelage in PDP. So it tells you that there’s something unique and that ticks in PDP.
The Party, however, said it is ready to welcome people who want to come back. Some left out of anger. Some of them took the decisions out of misinformation, but now we’re stable, and we’re strong, and we’re pushing towards the National Convention.
” This is the right time to come back, and we are willing. But what the party will not take is disloyalty. It’s going to be total. And we demand it. We’re going to enforce it. We’ll use our constitution.
*We’ll not be brash. We’ll be right-thinking. We’ll be accommodating, but we’ll be fair. That’s what we’ll do.
The party also denied claims that it has abandoned the case instituted against the federal government over the state of Emergency imposed in Rivers state.
“If a case is filed, there are processes. I’m a lawyer. There will be hearing notices. I am not in that case. I do know the governors of the party filed the case. The question that should be asked is whether it has been listed by the Supreme Court. If it’s been listed, then we’ll have a hearing notice.
Hearing notice, I’m not aware of.
“Again, let me tell you something. You see, being loud is not a substitute for being well-informed.
“We’re focusing on our national convention. If there are matters before the court, we allow the process to run. And it is not my take to say they’re not pursuing it well. If they are, there’s what we call a lack of diligent prosecution in law. If you feel that there’s a case that won’t be properly prosecuted by the person who sued it, then you know what to do.”
Also speaking on the situation of the party’s South South zonal committee, Ologunagba said the party will follow its constitution, as the party is based on rules and processes that every member is subjected to. So we are guided by those rules, by the provisions of the constitution, by our guidelines and our rules.
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“With regards to South-South, I reckon you might be referring to this Zonal Committee. In March this year, the tenure of the South-South Zonal Committee expired by a fluctuation of time. The party, in consistent with the practices, with the constitution, decided which is within the power of the party, being exercised through the National Working Committee,” he said.
“What we did was to set up, in line with the provisions of the constitution of the party, set up a caretaker committee, Zonal Caretaker Committee for the South-South, headed by Elder Emma Ogidi. That committee, in line with the processes of the party, what we did, in line with our processes, was to formally inaugurate that committee.
“And that committee has since started work. They’ve been working seamlessly. So there can only be one way to have that process. That process has been followed.”
