A chieftain of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, in Ekiti State, Senator Ayo Arise has declared in an interview with Channels Television that people must be allowed to make their choices for democracy to thrive in Nigeria.
Speaking on the topic, ‘Political Parties and Internal Democracy’ on Monday, the Senator noted that if political parties do not allow for the practice of internal democracy, then the country cannot have it on a larger scale, as the people would not be able to participate effectively.
While claiming that his party, the PDP, had done “fairly better than other political parties in the past”, he observed a trend that had become worrisome in the polity.
On the current crisis brewing in Ekiti State, he opined that he had seen “a different perception to the democracy that we all are aspiring for” adding that “My Governor, about couple of weeks ago, called the leaders of the political party of PDP – I wasn’t there – and just read out a list of 26 House of Assembly members and said whoever doesn’t like it should go and face him on the field. I don’t know what kind of democracy that is.
“That was how this whole problem started. I had to send him a text because we expect to be improving and getting better on a day to day basis.”
Commenting on the negative impact this would have on the party as well as Nigeria’s democracy and the need to avoid them; he asserted that “the minimum I’m asking for is for the Governor to obey the guidelines of the party, the basic principles of internal democracy. Let this people go to the field, if you have your preference, support your people some other ways.
“You can give them money but they must be on the field so that the people can have a say on who actually represents them at that local level.
“As a matter of fact, what I’m hearing is that most of those Assembly people – about 18 out of the 26 – actually followed the Governor from Labour Party. I now started saying that we were holding the party, this is PDP and what is the benefit for the people that worked to ensure that the Governor got to where he is?”
The lawmaker also lamented the fact that state governors had become too powerful within their parties in all the states in Nigeria.
Joining the conversation via a telephone call, the PDP Chairman in Ekiti State, Idowu Falaye, was of the opinion that the issue of the imposition of candidates had never been known to be common in the PDP and “anybody that is willing to contest any elective post can do so”.
Stressing that he had not received any formal complaint from Senator Arise on the matters he raised, Falaye stated that this was his expectation from a strong party member.
Hear him, “Governor Fayose has never hinted me that he wants to impose any candidate. So I am not comfortable with that statement that people are being imposed on them, except if there is any better argument from Senator Arise.”
In his reaction to the phone call, Arise disclosed that Falaye had just resumed as the party’s Chairman, as such could not have understood the details of the situation.
According to him, prior to the resumption of Falaye, he had submitted a protest letter to the Appeal Committee at the party’s secretariat alongside other party members from Ikole Ekiti and he “spoke with the then Acting Chairman”.
The lawmaker agreed with the position of the party chairman that the matter should have been addressed within the party rather than on the pages of newspapers, but explained that he had sent an SMS to the Governor concerning the issue.
He expressed disappointment that despite the fact that both of them have a reasonably cordial relationship, the Governor could call the meeting of party leaders in state without inviting him as well as pick candidates and delegates from his constituency without consulting him.
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