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Nigeria: PDP's Happy Family
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Vanguard (Lagos)
EDITORIAL
29 June 2008
Posted to the web 30 June 2008
Lagos
NIGERIANS are not new to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its antics of switching the law as it pleases. These infractions are glibly covered with the party's penchant for lawlessness, a practice its members enthusiastically embrace.
A crisis is brewing in Adamawa State which the PDP controls. The Adamawa State House of Assembly served notice of impeachment on Governor Muritala Nyako. Twenty of the House's 25 members signed. There are 17 PDP members in the House while the opposition Action Congress has eight.
The impeachment notice contained 16 allegations ranging from the Governor setting up a directorate outside the law, spending money without the House's approval, obtaining a N5 billion loan with no authorisation of the House to appointing his children into several positions.
Normally, the Governor was expected to present his defence. He ran to his party which summoned some of the legislators to Abuja for lessons on party unity.
The allegations, if true, have consequences for the people of Adamawa, with wider implications for nearby States. People migrate to States where their chances of survival are higher. Governor Nyako may think this matter is between him and his people, but it involves other Nigerians, whose States resources would be employed in catering for fleeing Adamawa people, if conditions in the State worsen.
Were the allegations true? Were they grave enough to necessitate an investigation? When did the party assume the constitutional role of state legislators in reining in a Governor? Those are not the concerns of the party.
"We have solved the problem. It is a family affair. We came to brief the President, he is happy with the party. The Governor and the Speaker are one and the same. Everything is over and we are happy.
"The gravity of the allegations is shallow. I think it is shallow. Politics is not like religion, even in church they disagree," said PDP Chairman Prince Vincent Ogbulafor, who was proud of his achievement in dousing the crisis.
At least one person was not happy. The Speaker of the State House of Assembly James Barka did not share in the celebrations. "We had a meeting. I will meet with my members to decide the next line of action," he said, bereft of the smiles.
Wider issues that the PDP intervention brings to the fore include the party's practice of obstructing the course of justice. Four years ago when its members in Gombe went on rampage, pillaging, murdering and burning houses, the party treated it as a party affair.
The lawlessness that pervades Oyo State has the imprimatur of the PDP hierarchy, which uses its control of the security agencies to redefine law and order. The latest example from Adamawa shows that the practice is far from over.
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No matter how happy the PDP is, the ordinary people of Adamawa State - not all of them are members of the PDP family - need to know the truth about these allegations. They too deserve to be happy.
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