2 hours ago
1 ARTICLE AD
A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party and member of its Board of Trustees, Chief Bode George, has strongly condemned the recent attack on the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, describing it as “despicable and wicked.”
PUNCH Online reports that a former Youth Leader, Sunday Ude-Okoye, was attacked and forced out of the BoT meeting, which was held on Wednesday.
Some personnel from the Nigerian Police, Department of State Security Services, and other agencies were deployed to restore order.
Addressing journalists at a press conference in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Friday, George accused some party members of prioritising their ambitions over the collective good of the PDP.
“What a national shame! Nigerians watched as thugs, sponsored by some so-called leaders of the party, invaded our national secretariat. This humiliation of our party and elders must stop,” he declared.
He urged the party leadership to take decisive action, warning that no one should be considered too powerful to face disciplinary measures.
“The leadership of the party must wield the big stick. Nobody is too big to be disciplined, and nobody is too important to be expelled. Only patriotic members of our party are indispensable. If you are arrogantly working against the PDP, I can tell you that your days are numbered,” he warned.
He described the violent invasion of the secretariat during the 79th BoT meeting on Wednesday as “despicable, inhuman, wicked, and unheard of,” stressing that it must be condemned by all party members who value democracy.
George blamed the attack on “disloyal individuals” within the party and called for disciplinary action against those responsible.
“What happened on Wednesday was horrendous and dreadful. The National Secretariat of our party in Abuja is sacred and must be respected by all members and non-members alike. It is sacrilegious that thugs were hired to unleash mayhem, disrupting the 79th Board of Trustees meeting,” he added.
He warned that if those responsible for the attack were not sanctioned, they might become emboldened to repeat such actions during more significant party meetings.
George said, “I have consistently stated that those with a belligerent attitude, if they are not ready to repent, should be shown the way out. The PDP, as the largest party in Africa, should not be turned into an ‘Agbero’ party by any member with an inordinate ambition. We have rules and regulations that govern us.”
Calling for urgent intervention, George urged the party leadership to mediate between opposing factions, emphasising that if reconciliation efforts failed, those unwilling to embrace peace should step aside.
“If we are indeed serious as a party, this is the time for the leadership to bring the two opposing factions together for a peace meeting.
“If they refuse to embrace peace, they should step aside and allow the party to move forward. We are in this crisis because of self-inflicted wounds, and we must put aside personal ambitions to prevent the PDP from crumbling,” he said.
He also called on party elders to intervene and caution members against actions that could destabilise the PDP, arguing that the party remained the only true national political platform in Nigeria.
“As leaders, we must not allow anybody to destroy our party because PDP is the only true national party. The APC is just a mere congregation of strange bedfellows,” he stated.
