I inherited undisciplined PDP – Chairman

The Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Kawu Baraje, on Sunday blamed the past leadership of the party, saying it was responsible for the indiscipline among members of the party. 

Baraje said the National Working Committee of the party, which he leads, inherited a party in March 2008 that was highly undisciplined and devastated by a lack of internal democracy. 

He, however, said efforts were being made to restore due process and rule of law in the party that prides itself as the largest party in Africa. 

A statement from the office of the acting National Secretary, Dr. Musa Babayo, on Sunday quoted Baraje as saying that he would also want his tenure to be evaluated and assessed by its commitment to the preservation of justice and adherence to due process and rule of law. According to him, that this is the only way discipline can be genuinely enforced in the party. 

Apart from indiscipline, Baraje also identified injustice and lack of due process as other vices militating against the establishment of genuine internal democracy in the party. 

Baraje said the only way the ruling party could become Nigeria’s flagship political organisation of the future was to confront all the identified problems squarely. 

He said, “What we need to achieve now is to ensure that people are treated in accordance with laid down regulations of the party and grievances are treated in accordance with the party’s constitution so that people will have confidence in the party and its leadership instead of rushing to the courts whenever they have even the slightest issues. 

“We have been experiencing irregular incidents in the party in the recent past. There had also been irregular solutions with unpalatable outcomes for members thereby creating a situation of agitation, displeasure and discontentment. 

“When people are bottled up for a long time, they resort to gross violation of law and due process. This is why you see our members take the law into their own hands by going to court without necessarily following the due process stipulated by our constitution. I want to assure our members that that era is gone.”

By Olusola Fabiyi                      Courtesy Of: Punch