Bode George
By Akeem Atoyebi
Former Vice National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olabode George, has said what happened on Wednesday during the 79th meeting of Board of Trustees of the party was not only shameful but
‘despicable, horrific, inhuman, wicked and unheard of.’
During a press briefing in his Lagos office on Friday, the former military governor of Ondo state who was reacting to the violence that broke out at the PDP national secretariat where the youth leader was said to have been physically attacked, noted that the individuals who deployed thugs to invade the party secretariat, acted shamelessly and their actions must be condemned by all who value democracy.
He said it is heartbreaking that the PDP which was founded by democratic people who shunned personal interests but pursued the collective interests of the party, are now dancing on the graves of some of these elders.
He said the situation emanated from the actions of ‘certain disloyal individuals’ within the party and strongly believes it should be seen as a serious offence which should not be condoned.
He said: “What happened on Wednesday was horrendous, terrible and dreadful. We are all aware that the National Secretariat of our party in Abuja is sacred. The premises must be respected by all members and non-members.
“It is sacrilegious that thugs were hired to enter the premises to unleash mayhem, disrupting the 79th Board of Trustees (BoT) meeting. If that could happen, then what do you think those who sponsored the thugs will do during the National Working Committee (NWC) and National Executive Committee (NEC) meetings?.
“Can you imagine a situation in which party officers were attacked and dragged out of the hall by thugs? What a desecration of our office. Nigerians watched as thugs, sponsored by some so-called leaders of the party, scaled the fence of our national secretariat. What a national shame.
It took the intervention of the police and other security agents around to bring the situation under control, using pepper spray. This is profanity of the highest order. More security personnel from the Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps were mobilised to our party secretariat to restore normalcy. What a national embarrassment.”
George also said that those who are causing trouble in the party must be shown the way out . He then however suggested that the warring factions within the party be brought in for reconciliation and if they are not ready for peace, they should step aside.
“I have consistently stated that those with a belligerent attitude, if they are not ready to repent, should be shown the way out. As the largest party in Africa, PDP should not be turned into an ‘Agbero’ party by any member with an inordinate ambition. We have rules and regulations that govern our party.
“If we are indeed serious as a party, this is the time for the party leadership to bring the two opposing factions together for a peace meeting. If they are not ready to embrace peace, they should step aside and allow the party to move past the current turmoil. Enough of this nonsense. We found ourselves in our current situation due to a self-inflicted crisis. We should bury our individual ambition now and not allow the PDP to crumble. Elders of the party should tell those funny characters to calm down.
“As leaders, we must not allow anybody to destroy our party because PDP is the only true national party. The APC is just a mere congregation of strange bed fellows. This is the time to show members working against our party the way out. No sentiment at all. Anything else will be suicidal.
“I want to send this advice to all that this humiliation of our party and elders must stop. The leadership of the party must also wield the big stick. Nobody is too big to be disciplined by our party. Also, nobody is too important to be expelled. Only patriotic members of our party are indispensable,” he said.
