Jonathan Challenges PDP Leadership

President Goodluck Jonathan has charged the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its newly elected National Working Committee (NWC) to ensure they instil discipline in the party as well as maintain independence so that it would be able to steer the country in the direction of development and peace.

He emphasised that there was need to rebuild the party to make it have the supreme power over everybody that attains any political position under its mandate and ensure that it can discipline the President and any other erring member against the current practice of members doing what they listed against the guidelines of the party without repercussions.

Jonathan who spoke at House 7 yesterday, at a dinner to welcome the new PDP executives led by Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, stressed the need to make the party financially strong through implementing the clause that members should make monthly contribution as well as explore other means of making the party financially strong so that it would not be swayed by anybody due to needs.

While explaining that the party was supreme and being the owner of the mandate which selected the President for presentation before election, there was need for the party to be supreme and its chairman in a meeting to come before that of any elected official in order of protocol, though the President should be respected.

He reminded political appointees that they were on the platform of the party which produced the ruling government and should therefore tailor their programmes to fit into the party manifesto and to see the party as the controlling force to which everyone should attune their programmes to as the clearing house on whose pivot every programme should rotate.

According to him, unless the party is able to maintain discipline among members, it will wear the toga of a party whose members were on the platform as independent candidates and appealed for the cooperation which the founding fathers of the party had in mind for the party to continue maintaining its strong showing in the political space.

“The party must make sure that members are disciplined and if the party cannot enforce discipline the PDP will just be operating like a platform for independent candidate. PDP is a political party and as a party you must have guidelines and no matter the office you are holding, the party must be in a position to discipline or admonish Mr President if he deviates. In South Africa, ANC can admonish the President because the party is superior.

“That is why in the gathering of the party, the party Chairman takes precedence in order of protocol. It shows that the President himself is under the chairman. The President cannot be a maximum ruler. The President is selected by the party and must serve the party not the party serving the President. So, if the President is deviating, the President must be called upon so that all we know that the party is supreme and we must all follow the dictates of the party.

Nobody in the party from the President to the least person at the ward will be superior to the party. So, you have a lot of challenges in this direction to make sure that you instil that kind of discipline. We will give you maximum cooperation”, he said.

Jonathan noted that none of the speakers prior to his address mentioned how the party will be financially independent, adding,
  “The other area that you didn't mention is how the party will be financially independent. We cannot continue to depend on contributions. Yes, members of the party must pay monthly contributions based on our guidelines but then, we must all work to create an avenue where the party will source funding so that if you are the chairman of the party, members of the working committee you can manage the party without excessive influence of people.

Even though we expect all money bags to be in PDP but we don't want the moneybags to influence the activities of the party and to stop that of course, we must come up with programmes that will make the party self-sustaining in terms of financing".

He said he looked forward to a situation and relationship where the party will give direction as well as act as the cohesive factor through meeting regularly that will galvanise both the Legislature and the Executive since the reputation for the administration enthroned by the party will either give good or bad name to it depending on performance.

In an apparent reference to the criticisms that are being thrown on the party by the opposition, Jonathan said they would not be responding to all of them, reasoning that, “We will not follow them because when you are in the ruling party, you must show more maturity, you must show the leadership that at the end of the day no matter where you talk people will have no choice than to follow the PDP direction”.

In his goodwill message, Ojo Maduekwe said the time to ensure changes was now and that the party should dialogue more, take painful decisions and explain to the public why it is doing so, insisting that the time to take the party to the expected heights was now.
He said the party has to dream of where to take the country to as well as give it direction whether it was to curb corruption or to as what has happened to any of the programmes like the rehabilitation of the railways, the party has to take firm decisions to make things happen.

He reminded Tukur that decisions that bring about changes were not tea party and that the party has to work with the government to mobilise the nation in difficult moments to attain the needed goals and assured the gathering that the new executive of the party paraded intimidating credentials which makes attaining goals easier.

Also speaking, Pioneer Chairman of the party, Chief Solomon Lar said they muted the idea of forming a national party in Kiri Kiri where the military detained them after the coup that ousted the second republic where they decided to form a formidable party that would be difficult for the military to oust.

He said that the spirit of the founding fathers which was patriotism should not be abandoned, adding that democracy being practiced for 13 unbroken years was the longest so far and a justification in their resolve to go for national party instead of zonal and regional arrangements.

He said that the people love PDP while the party also loves Nigerians and assured that the best should always be done in the greater interest of all Nigerians so that the country can move forward and insisted that the country will remain forever as one indivisible unit inspite of predictions that it will break up.

Tukur in his vote of thanks said that the party will steer the country towards justice, fairness, good governance and equity while inclusiveness will be its watchword and assured that they will do all within their power to ensure that they return the party to the dreams of its founding fathers.

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT), Senator Bala Mohammed said it was imperative to respect the party as supreme so that every other person will come under the direction and vision of the party for the much needed development.