More facts emerged yesterday in Abuja on how a frontline candidate for the chairmanship post of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, lost to his rival, Dr. Musa Babayo, at the Northeast congress on Wednesday.
A political strategist from the zone, Mr. Daniel Richards, said the delegates, insistence that strict democratic principles be followed rather than the imposition of a particular candidate favoured by some governors led to some sort of “revolution through the ballot box.”
Asking the PDP leadership to embrace true democratic ethos where leaders are chosen based on the free will of the people, Richards wondered why governors of the region attempted a to foist a candidate on the delegetes.
He also argued that age and health could have contributed to Tukur defeat, noting that the office requires an energetic go getter and someone who can withstand the rigours of the exalted post.
He said: “What happened in Bauchi on Wednesday is a demonstration of the principle of one man, one vote which, I believe, the leadership of the PDP seems to be scared of. But as far as the National Congress is concerned, we must give President Goodluck Jonathan the benefit of the doubt because he has said he has no candidate and that he will allow due process to thrive.
“By now, after more than 12 years of democratic experience, we should stop advancing things that do not give room for fairness. Let the people speak through the ballot. Is it not surprising that, after the chairmanship slot was allegedly zoned to the Northeast, some persons still want to pin it down to a particular candidate? Well, the delegates have spoken through the ballot and they have chosen someone they believe they can relate with, not someone they would be afraid to discuss with because of his age.
“We heard that some governors stayed back in Abuja, trying to negotiate on behalf of the Northeast. That cannot work and we will see how things play out at the convention proper on Saturday. How can any governor negotiate any position on behalf of the people of the Northeast zone.”
Reacting to a statement credited to Tukur that the Bauchi congress was illegal, Richards, who is from Adamawa State like Tukur, said a level playing field was provided for all the aspirats and the best choice of the people emerged.
“The North east is 100 percent behind Babayo. We have made up our mind and he has addressed us. We voted, we agreed, the National Vice Chairman of our party, Senator Paul Wampana, took census of all the votes that were cast and the candidates for whom the votes were cast in Bauchi and we all agreed that we would be going to Abuja with just one candidate. We will definitely queue up behind him, not Bamanga.
“Mind you, there was an election in Bauchi, everybody was given fair hearing, everybody cast his vote and the number of people allowed to vote actually voted and Dr Musa Babayo emerged. I am very satisfied with the process because people voted and we insisted on voting because we don’t want any name to be written from Abuja because we are not working for anybody in Abuja.
“All we know is that we have elected our person, someone we can call to order. He’s of my generation, I know how to pin him down and we can make him accountable.
“I’ve been to a place before and somebody was being called ‘Baba, Baba, and I surmised within myself, how are we going to be able to pin this man down, to hold him accountable? How does this work?”
No comments:
Post a Comment