Abuja — The Yar'Adua for New Nigeria (YFNN) group yesterday officially reacted to the statement from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), insisting that its activities are multi-partisan, as such cannot be controlled by PDP.

PDP had Monday warned all public officials and politicians involved in what it described as premature campaign for President Umaru Yar'Adua's second term in office to desist from doing so forthwith and channel their energies towards assisting the President to successfully see through his programmes for the greater good of the country.

Addressing a press conference after a meeting between its Board of Trustees and 36 state coordinators, Senator Paul Ukpo said the group is a non-governmental organisation and multi-partisan and therefore the statement of the PDP could not have been referring to it.

According to Ukpo, who is also the state coordinator of the group in Cross River State, "the aim and objective of YFNN is to sensitise the citizenry on the principles and programmes of President Yar'Adua's Seven-point Agenda for accelerated national development and good governance.

"We are also out to create a platform for genuine mobilisation of the citizenry to be responsive to the well-meaning policies and programme of the present administration and provide a feedback on the initiative needed for the administration to remain consistent in transforming Nigeria into a model nation-state from detractors and anti-progressive elements, " he explained.

Also speaking, the National Secretary of the group, Dr. Idris Aminu said: "We are not prepared to join issues with our party; we are foundation members of the PDP.

Some of them were not foundation members, they belong to other political parties, they came in but we started from the scratch.

"In fact, some of us feel that we have much stake in the PDP than those who talk on behalf of PDP now. But of course we are not going to mention names, we are not going to fight the party but there is a difference between PDP as a political party and an association that encompasses members of other political parties.

"This association, if you go through the nominations of the coordinators in the states, you will see that there are PDP members, there are ANPP members, there are AC members and there are others who do not belong to any political party. So, this is an all encompassing association," he stated.

The YFNN scribe further Added: "We are not here to campaign for Mr. President now; our aim is to project what he has done. For instance, we are just almost getting to the end of the crisis in the Niger Delta.

This thing has been on for decades; many governments have come, inherited and left the crisis behind without solving the problem."