On the heels of the postponed PDP state congress in Cross River State, a House of Representatives member, Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe, has has warned members of the National Working Committee of the People Democratic Party to desist from tempering with the authentic list of the Ward and Local Government executive of the party in the state, as such an action may lead to a total collapse of the party inCRS.
Agom, who represents Ogoja/Yala Federal Constituency in the National Assembly, while speaking with newsmen in Calabar after the State Congress was postponed by the NWC, said the he suspects that the Legal Adviser of the party has compromised.
The congresses were held and the list of the winners was ratified by the NWC which gave the winners the mandate to resume work adding that: “The NWC can make or mar the fortunes of the party. Right now, there is a crisis in the NWC because of what has happened in CRS. The NWC ratified the list of the panel that was sent to contest the Chapter and ward exco congresses in the state. But there was a turn of events when the Governor went to them and complained that he was not comfortable with the list and they tried to distort it. They are trying to arm twist us to talk of harmonisation in a process that has already been completed and we all saw the timetable of the publication that ward and chapter congresses in Cross River State have been completed and that received the endorsement of the NWC. At this point, we will not support them in any way.”
He continued by saying that: “They has been an injunction restraining the party at the National level from distorting the list pending the determination of the motion of notice on interlocutory injunction and that has not been taken. So there is a subsisting order. I hear that the faction in CRS is shopping for another order to restrain the party from dealing with the legal list. But it has no bearing because there is a subsisting order. If the list is distorted, that would be a total collapse of PDP in Cross River State. I say that on good authority.”
“If the list of Chapter and ward exco is distorted, there will be legal issues. The tenure of the ward and Chapter exco is already running. You must follow a legal process to remove them. I totally feel that the National Legal ù of the party is totally compromise. He is advising the NWC wrongly”, he said.
He said that as a person, he was not happy when the Stat Congress was postponed, adding that they spent so much coming down and putting the necessary logistics in place for a free and fair contest.
He came clear too that the series of events which culminated into the postponement of the congress are unacceptables. “Truth be told, PDP is fictionalised in Cross River State and It is not unconnected with the high handedness of the leadership of the party in the state and I will say that if the situation is not cured, PDP will not ascend in Cross River State again.
On the Northern Senatorial District of the state, Jarigbe was particular that: “A house divided against itself cannot stand. We are not together in the PDP in Northern Senatorial District; there is a serious faction and if that is not also looked into, I don’t think PDP will be the party to beat in the Senatorial bye election. So, the choice is that of the leadership to make between winning the election and losing the election. If the ticket of the PDP is shielded and given to a particular faction out of sentiment, then we will be in trouble because there is a lot or resentment among our people. We are in a Democracy, we are not in a military regime where we can coerce people, we should be allowed to speak our minds. Anyone who bevahes as if the party is his personal enterprise will have the people revolting against such act. People cannot allow themselves to be arm twisted.”
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