THE assurance of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leadership in Anambra State that it will conduct transparent congresses and primaries at all levels and ensure non-imposition of candidates in the 2015 general polls has been hailed by aspirants and stakeholders.
Anambra State PDP Chairman, Chief Ken Emekaiye, at a meeting of party stakeholders in Akwa, said: “The primaries will be peaceful and transparent. Everything will be done to erase acrimony. In the interest of the party, we will want the aspirants to talk among themselves ahead of the primaries. I encourage aspirants to reach out to one another, discuss, reach agreements and reconcile positions. Where they can’t reach an agreement, then they will go for the primaries.”
Commenting on the issue, a member of the House of Representatives (Nnewi North/South Ekwusiugo) Chris Azubuogu, said “this meeting is timely. It has come at a time when there are already rumours of people who are claiming that they have been given tickets.”
Also, a PDP senatorial aspiran in Anambra Central, Dr. Obiora Okonkwo said: “It is reassuring and heart-warming that the party has taken this stand. It is a welcome development that the party has come out to spell this out. It will encourage all aspirants and put the party in a good stead in terms of morals in the 2015 election.
Okonkwo also commended the party for its efforts at reconciliation because “it is a way of eliminating acrimony and unnecessary spending of money. We can succeed if we tell ourselves the truth and elect people based on their capabilities and strengths. The delegates will know who is good enough for which position.”
Dr. Okonkwo urged politicians to take serious the sacred mandate of voters and the charter of contract between them and their constituents to deepen the democracy at the grass roots.
In his declaration speech, “We Believe We Can Make This Change”, Okonkwo stated that “it is the poor attitude of politicians to those who elected them into office that is breeding this culture of distrust and acrimony, which manifests at every election.
“We believe that the power of the people is stronger than the power of the people in power. In pushing ourselves on the need for change, we have drawn up a shared vision with the people. It is a bond between the led and the leaders; a charter of trust, a platform to rebuild confidence. It is a bond built on the absolute needs of developmental politics, morality, credibility and humility in service to God and humanity. We want to restore pride in the people, rebuild their confidence and make them believe again that power resides in them.”
Okonkwo bemoaned how voters have been short-changed in their ability to effect change only during elections and said that in this election we must “significantly alter the way leaders see those, who put them in power. We insist that without these people, there would be no leaders. A leader is a servant of those who handed over power to him. That power is the power to serve the people and not the power to dominate them. Today, these leaders visualize themselves as kings, emperors, tingods who should be served while they drive their people off the roads, into poverty, distrust and hopelessness.”
No comments:
Post a Comment