14th November, 2014
Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt
The chairman, Rivers state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, Felix Obuah has warned aspirants on the platform of the party to be guided in their utterances in accordance with the provisions of the party constitution, noting that, the party would not tolerate actions that would bring the party to disrepute.
Obuah announced that the party would not hesitate to wield the big stick on aspirants who seek to tarnish the image of the party.
Obuah gave this warning in apparent reaction to criticisms of 16 gubernatorial aspirants about the leadership of the party in the state, after the ward and local government primaries, which tended to drag the name of the party and its leadership into disrepute through syndicated press statements and conferences.
The chairman says it has become very imperative to urge aspirants to be decorous, and stop engaging in those unfaithful and caustic activities and statements.
The party noted with sadness the orchestrated actions by aspirants deliberately designed to malign the party and its leadership by continuously dishing out outright falsehood, unsubstantiated claims and above all, threatening the tranquility and harmony in the party through various media publications and misrepresentations at public fora.
The PDP chairman reminded all aspirants that the party remains supreme over and above individuals and will not cease to conduct its programmes and activities according to the provisions of its constitution, in this case, the provisions of Article 58(1), which states thus: the party shall have power to discipline any member who says or does anything likely to bring the party into disrepute, hatred or contempt; engages in anti-party activities; engages in any conduct likely to cause disaffection among members of the party or is likely to disrupt the peaceful, lawful and efficient conduct of the business of the party; engages in unauthorised publicity of disputes within the Party or creates a parallel party at any level and promotes factions or belongs to any groups under the guise of the Party and by whatever name called, not being one provided for in the constitution of the PDP.
Obuah warned unequivocally that the Rivers State Chapter of PDP shall apply those relevant provisions of the party constitution against any erring member, no matter how highly placed, to serve as a deterrent to others.
Obuah emphasized that the party will no longer watch few individuals, who parade as aspirants of the party but have never been to the state party secretariat or know where the PDP Secretariat of their respective wards are located, continue to constitute themselves as cogs in the wheel of the party.
He further cautioned that the party shall henceforth take advantage of the provisions of the constitution to restore sanity and decorum amongst its members, stressing that the unity, peace and progress of the PDP shall not be compromised.
Reassuring that all genuine and sincere aspirants of the party would be treated fairly and enjoy all their rights as contained in the party constitution, Obuah said: “The party shall not sit and watch some unfaithful elements perpetuate the pull-down game being engaged in their quest to frustrate the party primaries in favour of their master and sponsor, Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi.”
“The party hereby, for the umpteenth time, appeal to all aspirants and its teeming members to adhere to the party rules and guidelines and see the peace, unity and the desire of the PDP to win all levels of elections in Rivers state beyond their personal and insular interest.
“The PDP further appeals that rather than dissipating their energies and resources in destructive activities, they should channel them towards the success of the Party in the elections, adding that the Party is willing and would work with any aspirant that emerges at the end of the party primaries.
Obuah then reaffirmed the earlier position of the party that all aspirants on the platform of the PDP shall be given a level playing ground, to test their popularity and acceptability at the primaries.