A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Akwa Ibom State, Archbishop Andrew Unwanta has cautioned the leadership of the party against persisting with what he described as culture of impunity and lack of reward system.
Unwanta, Chairman of the Strategic Committee of Akwa Ubok Abasi Campaign Organization, the governorship campaign group of Senator Bassey Albert Akpan, who made the assertion in a recent interview, said the party risks implosion following the way and manner it is conducting its affairs ahead of the 2023 general elections.
According to him, the PDP in Akwa Ibom was plagued by undemocratic tendencies and intrigues which pose huge threats to the survival and success of the party, and warned against a repeat of the outcome of the Ekiti gubernatorial election where the PDP came a distant third, as the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Social Democratic Party (SDP) came first and second, respectively.
“I have witnessed so many governments and have been part and parcel of enthroning at least almost all of them including the one in power now – Governor Udom Gabriel Emmanuel. I had been the International President of ACA – Akwa lbom Consolidation Alliance, which was the flagship organisation that piloted the affairs of our dear governor when he came into office in 2015. So I am familiar with the politics of Akwa lbom but the intrigues in the politics of today are more than what I have seen in the past.
“l am not impressed because when the intrigue is too much, it creates division and when a party is divided, the chances of that party winning may be very slim like it happened in Ekiti State governorship election recently. The intrigues there were what marred the chances of PDP in that state to emerge victorious. The Social Democratic Party, SDP, candidate in that election actually moved out of PDP because he was rigged out of the nomination process. You can’t imagine somebody that left the platform of PDP going into the election to become second even when he had withdrawn officially and had asked his supporters to vote for PDP.
“The people were very bitter and still voted for him as SDP candidate and PDP ended up becoming third in the Ekiti polls while the candidate of the APC won. Unnecessary intrigues can ruin the chances of a party as it happened to PDP in Ekiti. So, as of today, I’m not too happy about the way things are going in Akwa lbom State. What is happening in PDP is also the fate of APC. Lack of internal democracy does not allow stability in the party,” he stated.
Commenting on the suits instituted by aggrieved members of PDP against the conduct of the PDP Governorship primary, Archbishop Unwanta expressed the hope that the court would give a fair ruling that would reenergize the party in the state:
“We are in court right now as regards what took place in Akwa Ibom and I think the court will give ruling on that. No hope is lost. The court’s judgement can give a new direction altogether. We are waiting to see exactly what will come out of the court.”
Speaking further, he faulted the composition of the Akwa Ibom PDP reconciliation committee, saying it is made up of members of Maintain Peace Movement (MPM) which is a political group mobilizing support for the disputed gubernatorial candidate of the party, Pastor Umo Eno.
Speaking on the notion that PDP is a religion in Akwa Ibom State, the elder statesman retorted that such assumption was now outdated following the current level of awareness in the polity.
“I think the level of political awareness today may not help that situation. Being a religion is when people are united and going in one direction but when there is disunity how then do you say it is a religion?
“If PDP was a religion in Ekiti State, because of what happened in Ekiti, it was no more a religion. At least, I could have expected if APC led the polls in Ekiti (as it happened) maybe PDP should have come second. But that was not the case. The PDP allowed rancour to set in before the election and that marred its chances in the polls.
“PDP in Akwa Ibom used to be very strong. It is the people that make the party. There is no party without people. The flag, the building, and the name are not the party, but it’s the people. So it’s the people that are supposed to be inside the party to make it strong, but when there is disharmony and lack of unity; how then do you think, that PDP can be a religion? That is my party and I am praying they start thinking right to unite the party and make the party strong again to remain a religion as it used to be but for now I don’t see it like that,” he emphasized.
