2nd August, 2015
*PDP publicity secretary taken to the cleaners by people who know him
Ayorinde Oluokun/Abuja
There seems to be no let up in the war between workers at the Abuja national secretariat of Nigeria’s main opposition, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and members of the National Working Committee, NWC of the party.
Workers of the party had yesterday called for investigation of members of the NWC by the anti graft agencies over allegations of mismanagement of N12 billion realised by the party from the sale of nomination forms for the 2015 general elections.
The accusation of massive funds mismanagement followed moves by the party’s NWC to sack about 50 per cent of the workers and also cut wages by 50 per cent.
But while responding to the allegations, Olisa Metuh, the PDP National Publicity Secretary had accused the workers of being used by the opposition All Progressives Congress.
The PDP Staff Welfare Association however described the claim by Metuh as “an absolute bunkum, a clumsy, and blundering blackmail”, in a statement issued on Saturday, signed by the Chairman of the Association, Ngozi Nze and Secretary, Dan Ochu-Baiye.
The obviously angry workers said the allegation by Metuh provides a window into how the national publicity secretary has performed his job as an image maker of PDP since his appointment.
“We wish to state that this is a man whose conduct, demeanour and media outings have been a repulse to professionalism and a source of embarrassment to party members,“ the workers said of Metuh.
In contrast, the workers noted that “majority of the establishment staff of the PDP are not just unrepentant members of the party who have spent over 16 years in service; who have assimilated the PDP ethos as way of political life but are also the repository of the party’s memory whose spirit can hardly succumb to the ephemerality of power loss.”
The workers then went on to list some of the alleged anti-party activities the PDP National Publicity has been engaged in.
“Who plays anti-party you may ask? Staff members who are genuinely resisting the morally repugnant and obsessively corrupt NWC so that the PDP will survive or the likes of Olisa Metuh who has a track record of anti-party given his open endorsement of APGA candidate in 2013 Anambra governorship election, the subsequent denigration of PDP candidate and his chances on live television program less than 24hours after the election, even as result was being awaited?
“Earlier in January 2010 Anambra governorship election, Metuh as National Vice Chairman, South East abandoned Chukwuma Soludo , the PDP candidate while openly galvanizing support for Hope Democratic Party candidate, his friend and benefactor.
“The PDP did not only woefully lose in Otolo Nnewi Ward 1 of the party’s zonal vice Chairman but came a distant third in his polling booth! What a faithful party officer!
“Again, we have incontrovertible evidence that the man who is PDP Publicity Secretary worked assiduously against the presidential candidate of the PDP, former President Goodluck Jonathan in the last election in order to requite the ex-President for rejecting him as Director of Publicity of the Presidential Campaign which was given to Femi Kayode, a development which came after Metuh had squandered a whooping sum of 450 million naira media fund earlier given to him by President Jonathan.
“Last week’s controversial congresses in Anambra is another signpost to the destructive trajectory which the likes of Olisa Metuh is driving the PDP to.
The chairman of the congress, Ike Abonyi, no doubt a veteran journalist is at present in Olisa Metuh’s employ as his media adviser.
“Another member of the committee, Collet Odenigbo is Metuh’s friend and adjutant on special assignments while the man returned as State Organizing Secretary, Sam Ben is Metuh’s personal assistant.
The process was so personalized to the chagrin of party members, especially leaders who were also illegally compelled to part with certain amount of money.
“As we write, the party is still waiting for the result of the congresses a week after it was held, pending when Metuh is done with his conclave of distortion and extortion.
“This is the same man who we reliably gathered, is surreptitiously scheming to emerge as the Organizing Secretary of the party next year. To do what? Turn the party organisation into Onitsha Main Market and institutionalise exaction, graft and impunity.
“This is a man who started in 1999 as a zonal youth leader, then National Ex-officio, acting National Auditor, Zonal Vice Chairman and now publicity secretary. It is either his umbilical cord was buried at Wadata Plaza or that he can’t survive on any other thing except the PDP.
“We make bold to add that the worst form of anti-party is the mindless plunder of party resources by the NWC which Olisa Metuh is integral part of, in fact the leader of the body’s extortion gang.
“Recall that the same man was the Chairman of Kogi State congresses which held last week and match it with the fact that the widely rumoured request for One billion Naira from the State governor emanated the same week.
“Indeed labeling the staff of the PDP could be a veiled attempt to justify the huge sum of 70 million naira which Metuh collected in July in the name of fighting the APC in the media.
“We wish to therefore advise him and the NWC to respond to gritty issues raised in our press briefing without which the fortunes of the party will continue to dwindle,” the workers said.