by crossriverwatch admin
Yesterday the Peoples Democratic Party, Cross River State Chapter published its guidelines for aspirants seeking nomination as its Chairmanship and Councillorship candidates respectively in the forthcoming Local Government Council election scheduled for September, 2013 in the State.
After the publication of these guidelines ominous silence, outrage, disbelief and shocked descended and permeated the ranks and file of the Party on the astronomical increase in the price of expression of interest and nominations forms for the Chairman and Councillorship positions.
In unprecedented move calculated and intended to send a strong signal that the Party is meant for those who have enriched themselves at the expense of the society and their cronies; the purchase price for expression of interest and nomination forms for aspirants seeking nomination for the Chairmanship position was fixed at N1, 000,000 million. Conversely the purchase price for the expression of interest and nomination forms for Councillorship position was fixed for N500, 000.
It is the height of deceit and chicanery, indeed criminal for the Party to fix the purchase price of its expression of interest and nominations forms at such a ridiculously high price that is clearly beyond the reach of Party men and women who genuinely wants to use its platform to contest Chairmanship and Councillorship positions in order to get into the local government system to try and see if they can infuse some measure of change to arouse it from its present, stagnant, comatose and atrophied position.
The implication of the fixing of such astronomical price for the purchase of forms for aspirants by the PDP is that the race to get the nomination of the Party by aspirants under its platform for the forthcoming Local Government Council elections election is that the entire process has been hijacked by only those with deep pockets or those who would be sponsored by powerful and rich Party barons under the guise of god fatherism. The institutionalization of commercial and money politics with all its attendant negativisms has been elevated to the greatest but ridiculous height by this latest policy thrust of the PDP.
It is a sad commentary that the PDP has refused to reform despite the huge outcry by Nigerians over its dismal and woeful performance since it took over the reins of governance in the country since 1999. The miserable and scandalous under performance of the PDP is felt in all the three tiers of governments in the Country. However it is most palpable in the Local Government tier because that tier of government is the closest to the people.
The manipulation of the Local Government tier of government by Governors in the Country especially in PDP controlled States has led to the complete collapse of that vital tier of government with the attendant grave implication in the development of the country rural areas. The merchantilist and buccaneer style of politicking introduced into Nigerian political terrain by the PDP has led to the seizure of the political landscape by those who do not mean well for the hapless people of this country.
It is now clear to the people that the change we all desire, clamor and want will never come from PDP. The Party is doomed. It is right time Nigerians shun the Party and seek for alternative platform. The PDP is like a leopard that will hardly change its spots. The PDP is bad luck. Nigerians must certainly look elsewhere. It is even a slap on the face of the people of Cross River State.
This huge cost of nomination form in the PDP is a challenge to the people and I pray that they take the gauntlet by embracing alternative platforms offered by other political parties in the State to call the bluff of the PDP.
The PDP will only sit up when the people are ready to give it a challenge by being alive to their responsibility of good citizenship by shunning the enticements usually thrown at them by PDP during election time and vote according to their conscience.
Okoi Obono-Obla
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