Rivers PDP reads riot act to governorship aspirants

THE leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party in Rivers State has
warned its governorship and other aspirants to play by the rules and
be guided by the provisions of Article 58 (1) of the party's
constitution of 2012 as amended, threatening that disciplinary actions
would be taken against errant members.
The state Chairman of the PDP, Mr. Felix Obuah, expressed the need for
aspirants contesting on the party's platform to show decorum and stop
making scathing statements that could bring the name of the party into
disrepute.
Obuah was reacting to statements credited to some of the governorship
aspirants who expressed dismay over failure to zone leadership
positions.
The leadership of the party in the state had ahead of the 2015 poll
declared that the governorship position would not be zoned to any
senatorial district, local government or ethnic nationality.
Obuah, in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media, Mr.
Jerry Needam, said, "It has become very imperative to urge aspirants
to be decorous and stop engaging in those unfaithful and caustic
activities and statements.
"The party notes with sadness the orchestrated actions by aspirants
deliberately designed to malign the party and its leadership by
continuously dishing out outright falsehood, unsubstantiated claims
and above all, threatening the tranquility and harmony in the party
through various media publications and misrepresentations at public
fora."
Obuah reminded the aspirants that the party remains superior to
individuals and would not cease to conduct its programmes and
activities according to the provisions of its constitution.
Citing a portion of the PDP constitution, Obuah noted, "Article 58(1)
of the constitution states that the party shall have power to
discipline any member who says or does anything likely to bring the
party into disrepute, hatred or contempt; engages in anti-party
activities; engages in any conduct likely to cause disaffection among
members of the party or is likely to disrupt the peaceful, lawful and
efficient conduct of the business of the party.
"The party shall discipline any member who engages in unauthorised
publicity of disputes within the party or creates a parallel party at
any level and promotes factions or belongs to any group under the
guise of the party and by whatever name called, not being one provided
for in the constitution of the PDP."
The chairman added that he would be left with no other option but to
apply relevant provisions of the party's constitution against any
erring member, no matter how highly placed, to serve as a deterrent to
others.
He stressed that the state PDP would no longer watch few individuals,
parading as aspirants of the party, but had never been to the state
party secretariat, to constitute themselves as cogs in the wheel of
the party's progress.
"The party shall henceforth take advantage of the provisions of the
constitution to restore sanity and decorum amongst its members. The
unity, peace and progress of the PDP shall not be compromised," he
further warned.