The Special Political Adviser to Governor Caleb Muftwang of Plateau State, Latep Dabang, has stated that the allegation of no structure against the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) is a lame excuse by some forces both within and outside the state to steal the mandate given to the PDP during the last general elections.
Speaking with newsmen in Jos, Dabang, who was also a former state chairman of the All Progressive Congress (APC), stated that what transpired during the Congresses and primaries of the APC prior to the general elections were clear indications that the party lacked structure, adding that the exercises were carried out without recourse to the constitution of the party and laid down procedures.
Dabang pointed out that he resigned as the chairman of the APC because it lacked structure, adding that rather than saying that the PDP had no structure, it was the APC that lacked defined structure at the state level, a situation that frustrated him out of the party.
He posited that he was totally at a loss for how the Appeal Court arrived at its conclusion that the PDP lacked the structure to nominate candidates for the 2023 general elections.
“Well, for me, if there is any political party that has no structure, it’s the APC. All of us are living witnesses to how the leadership of the party emerged. In 2021, APC collapsed. There is no doubt about that.
“It became obvious that internal democracy was not going to be obeyed. Councillorship candidates and chairmanship candidates were simply selected. And when it got to the congresses, all the elections or purported congresses that took place at local and ward levels were stage-managed.
“There were lots of hues and cries that showed clearly that there was no proper election that produced the current executive of the party in the state. At some point, we had to apply to INEC to get certified copies as observers of the Congress.
“And the results were appalling; in the majority of the wards, there were no congresses that took place. It was also obvious that the majority of the local government did not obey the tenets of democracy in electing its officers. It snowballed into an ugly situation at the Crest Hotel, where the state officers of the party were nominated.
“And so I am at a loss for why and how they say the PDP has no structure. We know the circumstances that prevented us from participating in the local government election, and the court said we should go and repeat it.
“It’s also on record that the Congress was successfully held where the current leadership of the PDP emerged, and in this second congress, nobody complained because there were no issues.
“I heard people say there was no substantial compliance, but who is complaining about this substantial non-compliance?
“To me, I think some people resurrected what had been buried completely to suit some people’s purposes.”
Dabang called on the Supreme Court to look at the issues dispassionately and do the needful. He also asked the National Judicial Council to look at the cases of the lawmakers sacked by the Appeal Court.
The political adviser further stated that he was not surprised by the outburst of the PDP member of the Trustees in Plateau, Ambassador Fidelis Tapgun, that the party has no structure, adding that Tapgun belongs to the aggrieved Pro-Jeremiah Usein group fighting the party within.
Said he: Tapgun belongs to the aggrieved group within the PDP in the state; he belongs to the pro-Usein group; he is not speaking from a fair, independent line. He belongs to the group that protested against the first Congress, which led to the repeated one. He is simply servicing the interests of the aggrieved group; we understand his position.
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