Ex-Plateau Speaker blasts political elite over crises

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9 years ago

FORMER Speaker Plateau State House of Assembly, Honourable Istifanus Mwansat has criticized members of the political class for the unending crisis in both the Peoples Democratic Party and All Progressive Congress.

Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune in Jos, he said they had let the electorate down in all ramifications because the crises were borne out of rivalry among desperate gladiators who were bent on holding their respective parties to ransom for selfishness reasons.

“It is unfortunate that the members of the political class are yet to imbibe the tenets of democracy. The two major parties: APC and PDP are presently in crises over unnecessary bickerings that are self-centred in nature. It is high time the political class respected the electorate, who gave them the mandate and carry them along.

“As politicians, we need to be steadfast in our approach to politics; we must be principled and not play with the intelligence of the electorate. You don’t run away from problems as many are doing today by jumping from one political party to another on the premise of crisis.

“This is democracy. You win some; you lose some; that is life. You cannot be a champion for life; it is either you are dethroned or you retired yourself. A political leader must be responsible and willing to remedy the situation he finds himself, and not to be running or jumping from one political party to another,” he said.

The former Speaker, who said there was a relative stability in Plateau PDP despite defection of Senator Dariye to APC, added that party leadership would reposition the party to be in good stead preparatory to the 2019 elections.

He said that though the defection of Senator Joshua Dariye, to APC was a loss to the PDP family in Plateau and the people of Plateau Central, the PDP still remained a formidable force in the state.

“Definitely, we will miss Dariye and some of his followers. If you have a polygamous family, you cannot say the death of one member is not important to you. The defection is a minus for PDP in Plateau Central and the entire State,” the ex-Speaker said.