Bola Badmus, Author at Tribune Online

Lagos State chapter of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said it is poised to reestablish the old and proper attitude of party members which believes that leaders, officers and representatives must be elected at free and fair congresses and primaries in line with the extant provisions of the party’s constitution. The party, while rolling out the code of conducts, declared as unacceptable and nonsensical the practice whereby some leaders and members hide out in some hotel premises fortified with thugs and other social miscreants and shared party positions to themselves as slots which they thereafter sell or otherwise appropriate to their cronies, adding that it was determined to stamp out all that. Chairman of the party, Dr Adegbola Dominic, gave this marching order in a signed statement, a copy of which he made available to newsmen, even as he admonished leaders and members to put a hand on the plough and work hard to ensure victory for PDP and stop "shouting among themselves that Lagos State is winnable without performing the requisite hard work." According to Dominic, who has just been returned to office following the Lagos High Court victory delivered last week by Justice Oyekan Abdulahi, success can only be sweet after rigour, hard work and self-application, adding that a solid party structure is the name of the winning game. "The administration of the PDP in Lagos State now is poised to reestablish the old and proper attitude of party members which believe that leaders, officers and representatives are to be elected at free and fair congresses and primaries, as prescribed by the extant provisions of the party’s constitution. "The present practises whereby a few people hide out in some hotel premises fortified with thugs and other social miscreants for the purpose of sharing party positions to themselves as slots which they thereafter sell or otherwise appropriate to their cronies, even as hardworking and long-suffering members are left in the cold of frustration and regrets, is unacceptable. We are determined to stamp out all that nonsense. "Further, a fashionable but self-defeating trend among our members is to keep shouting among themselves that Lagos State is winnable without performing the requisite hard work that is attendant to such starry-eyed expression. Success can only be sweet after rigour, hard work and self-application. A solid party structure is the name of the winning game," Dominic said. On 2023 General Election, the party boss charged the Lagos State chapter to work hard to contribute their fair quota to the pool of the winning streak that would be the portion of the party nationwide, positing that the forthcoming local government polls in the state provided an ample opportunity for PDP to test-run its machinery towards 2023 as all party members who are aspiring for elective positions are directed to work to produce the councillor of their respective wards. According to him, this same rule applies inflexibly to him too as chairman of the party in the state, saying he must produce councillor for his ward to qualify to contest the position of chairman or any other position at the congress for such election. "The machinery includes the establishment of wards and polling booth structures in all the polling units throughout the state. It is a sure way to win many if not all the chairmanship and councillorship positions available. "Furthermore, party members who are aspiring for elective positions are directed to work to produce the councillor of their respective wards. Similarly, those aspiring for party management positions should, as a matter of course, win the councillorship seats in their respective wards in order to qualify for the party nomination. "This rule applies inflexibly to me too as chairman of the party in Lagos State. I must produce my councillor for me to qualify to contest the position of chairman or any other position at the congress for such election," Dominic said. "We are determined to win as many councillorship and chairmanship seats as are up for the contest. Thus our candidates are hereby assured of logistics and other material support within the reach of the party: We will on their behalf solicit for material assistance from all possible sources, including from our leaders in and out of government. "Various Election Committees which are already in place and are functioning shall be encouraged and assisted to achieve success," he added. Dr Dominic commended leaders and members for what he described as their long-suffering, dedication, and commitment to the cause of the party, despite the huge dark clouds that had hung over it for the past 20 months when the crisis that led to the court case lasted. He noted that the peace and stability of PDP in the state got rudely disturbed through what he termed avoidable wrongful actions and/or inactions which led to a protracted lawsuit, and which, by divine providence, came to an end some days ago, pointing out that the Lagos High Court "delivered a brilliant and iron-cast judgement in favour of logic, good reasoning, and the requirement to ensure justice in the polity." "In those 20 months, indiscipline, total disregard of the party’s rules and constitution, etc. have disrupted the basis of our party’s promises to the people of Lagos State. "What happened is truly tantamount to a hijack of the people’s mandate freely given in accordance with the provisions of the constitution of the party. It is deplorable and should be deplored. This period may well be denominated as the dark period in the history of our party in Lagos state. May we never experience such a situation again," the party boss said. YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE Lagos PDP re-establishes rules on electing its officers, representatives We Have Not Had Water Supply In Months ― Abeokuta Residents In spite of the huge investment in the water sector by the government and international organisations, water scarcity has grown to become a perennial nightmare for residents of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. 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