Nwaka: Why PDP Must Redress Lopsided Sharing of Party Offices

Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia

A former senator for Abia North in the third republic, Senator Emma Nwaka, has urged the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) to urgently balance the equation of its current power sharing arrangement in the party, which has sparked crisis in the party, if it intends to achieve success in the 2023 polls.

Nwaka told THISDAY that he totally agreed with the “impeccable position” of the Chairman of PDP Board of Trustees (BoT), Walid Jibrin, who had reportedly condemned the alleged marginalisation of the South in sharing of party’s top posts.

The BoT Chairman was quoted to have voiced his concerns, saying, “To tell the truth, it will not be fair for the president of Nigeria to be from the north, the chairman of the party to be from the north and to talk of the BoT chairman to also be from the north”.

While corroborating Jibrin’s position, Nwaka said the main opposition party was sending a wrong signal to the southern part of the country by excluding them from the top echelon of the party at the national level.

His words: “The impression this situation creates is that the South is inconsequential in the political equation of PDP,” adding that the lopsided sharing of top posts was akin to “rubbing salt to injury”.

He stated that the PDP faithful from the south were still nursing the wounds inflicted on them when the presidential ticket went north, adding that the current arrangement of party offices was against the party’s constitution.

“If the party is serious about chasing the non-performing APC out of power, the situation we find ourselves calls for sacrifice for us to get it right,” he counseled.

“Any political party that thinks that it can do without any section of the country is digging its own grave. A stitch in time saves nine. Since we are chasing a black goat, it’s good to make hay while it’s still day,” former Abia PDP chairman added.