Workers at the national secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) yesterday insisted that the party’s leaders were the architects
of its current misery, and should therefore stop blaming the ruling All
Progressives Congress (APC) for their woes.
The workers are currently at war with members of the party’s National
Working Committee (NWC) over a planned 50 percent slash in their
salaries and allowances.
The NWC had, through a circular by PDP’s National Secretary, Prof.
Wale Oladipo, also given notice of a 50 percent reduction in secretariat
staff strength.
But the workers responded to the NWC’s move by dismissing the officials as corrupt, insensitive and reckless.
They also staged a protest at the party’s secretariat on Friday, and
threatened to drag the NWC members to the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other
related offences Commission (ICPC) for investigation.
But the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh, did not take kindly to the workers’ action.
He accused them of acting the script of the APC with a view to destabilising the PDP.
However, the workers, under the aegis of the PDP Staff Welfare
Association, dismissed Metuh’s accusation as “absolute bunkum, clumsy,
and blundering blackmail.”
The association’s Chairman, Ngozi Nze and the Secretary, Dan
Ochu-Baiye vowed, in a statement, to expose more of the party leaders’
corrupt practices.
Describing Metuh’s stand point as “a weak shot from a mortally
crippled arsenal of witch hunt”, the workers said such blackmail would
not break their resolve to see the NWC members investigated and
prosecuted.
Their words: “Metuh’s allegation is a wide window into the
impressionable character of the man who has been in the saddle as the
party’s image-maker and an ominous signpost into the shallow manner the
publicity of the party has been run.
“We wish to state that this is a man whose conduct, demeanour and
media outings have been a repulse to professionalism and a source of
embarrassment to party members.
“We therefore place it on record that the majority of the
establishment staff of the PDP are not just unrepentant members of the
party who have spent over sixteen years in service; who have assimilated
the PDP ethos as a way of political life, but are also the repository
of the party’s institutional memory whose spirit can hardly succumb to
the ephemeralty of power loss.
“Who plays anti-party? you may ask. Staff members who are genuinely
resisting the morally repugnant and obsessively corrupt NWC so that the
PDP will survive, or the likes of Olisa Metuh who have a track record of
anti-party given his open endorsement of APGA candidate in the 2013
Anambra governorship election.
“What with Metuh’s subsequent denigration of the PDP candidate and
his chances on live television programme less than 24 hours after the
election, even as the result was being awaited?
“Earlier in January 2010 Anambra governorship election, Metuh as
National Vice Chairman, South East, abandoned Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, the
PDP candidate while openly galvanizing support for Hope Democratic
Party candidate, his friend and benefactor.
“The PDP did not only woefully lose in Otolo Nnewi Ward 1 of the
Party’s zonal vice chairman, but came a distant third in his polling
booth! What a faithful party officer!”
They queried Metuh’s support for former President Goodluck Jonathan
in the run up to the last election and wondered what happened to “a
whopping sum of N450 million media fund earlier approved for the office
of PDP Publicity Secretary by President Jonathan.”
They also cited the recent congresses in Anambra as “another signpost
to the destructive trajectory which the likes of Olisa Metuh is driving
the PDP to.”
They added:”as we write, the party is still waiting for the result of
the congresses a week after it was held, pending when Metuh is done
with his conclave of distortion and extortion.
“This is the same man who we reliably gathered, is surreptitiously
scheming to emerge as the Organizing Secretary of the party next year.
To do what? Turn the party organization into Idumota Market and
institutionalize extortion, graft and impunity.
“This is a man who started in 1999 as a zonal youth leader, then
National Ex-officio, Acting National Auditor, Zonal Vice Chairman and
now publicity secretary. It is either his umbilical cord was buried at
Wadata Plaza or that he can’t survive on any other thing except the PDP.
“We make bold to add that the worst form of anti-party is the
mindless plunder of the party resources by the NWC which Olisa Metuh is
an integral part. He is, in fact, the leader of the body’s extortion
gang.
“Recall that the same man was the Chairman of Kogi State congresses
which held last week and match it with the fact that the widely rumoured
request for one billion Naira from the state governor emanated the same
week.
“Indeed, labelling the staff of the PDP could be a veiled attempt to
justify the huge sum of N70 million which Metuh collected in July in the
name of fighting the APC in the media.
“We wish to therefore advise him and the NWC to respond to gritty
issues raised in our press briefing without which the fortunes of the
party will continue to dwindle.”
The workers had, among others, accused the party leaders of
squandering N12 billion realised from the sale of nomination forms
during the last general election.
They also alleged that the party leaders had compelled delegates to
pay N10,000 each into a private account of a company called Morufi
Nigeria Limited only to squander the over N1 billion realised from the
transaction.
Metuh in his reply to the workers volunteered to be investigated by
the security agencies over the allegations of corruption against him.
In a statement by his Personal Assistant, Mr. Richard Ihediwa, Metuh
said the workers’ actions were meant to bring to public odium and to
distract him from his duties.
He said he was being persecuted by the ruling All Progressives
Congress (APC) through the workers, for his relentless criticism of the
policies and programmes of the administration.
According to him, “This is not unexpected given the role of the
National Publicity Secretary in the rebuilding of our great party and
how uncomfortable the ruling APC has been for his outspokenness.
“We are aware that the anti-PDP forces have easily found a handful of
disgruntled PDP staff as willing tools to attack Chief Metuh with a
view to bringing him to public odium, distract him and deny our party a
credible voice to propagate its positions.
“These forces had even gone to the extent of engineering some
discontented PDP members to portray statements by the National Publicity
Secretary as his personal opinions in the attempt to discredit and
intimidate him.
“For the avoidance of doubt, we wish to state categorically that the
National Publicity Secretary will not be deterred or detracted by such
threats and cheap blackmails as he remains committed to his role in the
rebuilding of the PDP and in providing firm, credible and issue based
opposition to the ruling party.
“This office would not join issues with these elements, however we
make bold to state that Chief Olisa Metuh, being aware of the challenges
that come with his new role has offered himself, his office as well as
all his private companies for probe by the Department of State Services
(DSS) or any other government agency for that matter.
“We also find it laughable that anybody would criticise the recent
PDP congresses in Anambra and Kogi that have been widely applauded to be
transparent and credible as established by the peace and harmony that
characterised the processes.
“One also wonders how the issue of congresses helps the case of
welfare matters being pushed by the staff, if not for the ulterior
motive of destroying the PDP publicity”.
Metuh said his accusers have deliberately refused to appreciate his
immense contributions to the party and the fact that he became the
longest serving member of the National Executive Committee due to hard
work and the confidence members of the party reposed in him as an
individual.
He expressed relief that his accusers are now calling for his investigation instead of resorting to plots to assassinate him.
“However, we restate that the National Publicity Secretary will not
in any way be cowed or intimidated by the threats, blackmails and
attacks by anti-PDP forces to abandon his mandate as spokesperson of our
great party”, the statement
