C’River PDP Is Divided Against Itself – Hon. Jarigbe

A member of the National Assembly representing Ogoja/Yala Federal Constituency in Cross River State, Hon. Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe says the party the PDP in the state is not united and this may undermine the chances of the party in upcoming elections.

Hon. Jarigbe made his feelings known against the backdrop of the stalled state post of the party which was shifted by one week following irreconcilable differences by some stakeholders and power brokers in the state.

He said the problems facing the party needs to be cured to reposition the party and party members should not be coerced in any way as the country is in a democratic dispensation and not a military regime.

“It is a straight forward thing, a house divided against itself cannot stand, and you know that an implosion is worse than an explosion. We are not together in the PDP in the Northern party of the state, there is serious faction and if that is also not cured, I don’t think the PDP will be the party to beat.

“So, the choice is that of the leadership to make between winning the elections and losing the elections. If the ticket of the party is skewed and given to a particular faction, out of sentiments or parochial reason they will be in trouble because there is a lot of resentment amongst our people, so the leadership of the party will have to take a decision that will be favourable to the PDP.

“We should look at where the majority of the people stand, and politics is a game of numbers, if we don’t take that into consideration and think that we can coerce the people, we are in a democracy, we are not in a military regime, so we definitely have a problem in our hands”, Jarigbe said.

He faulted the planned harmonisation of the various executve committees of the party in the state saying it is an infringement on the rights of the people particularly at the ward and chapter levels of the party who have since assumed office and serving the party.

“The truth about this is that at this point, we have all passed the ward and state exco council list. We are not competent at this point to take whatever decision on behalf of those that have been elected, ratified by the national working committee and published.

“It is an infringement on their rights as a people. We are not in the process of throwing them off. They have started working and serving this party already. We have voted for them, it has been ratified, and they are working. So, I don’t know what legitimacy we will have talking about harmonization of wards and chapter excos.

“For the state congresses, there are people who were screened and ready to contest elections, I don’t know if we are going to zone out their rights or we are going to harmonise against them expressing themselves in the field, I don’t know. At this point in time, there is a lot we have to do as a PDP family to get it right it’s not about coercing anybody”, he said.