The lawmaker representing Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District in the Senate, Sen Chris Ekpenyong, has said it smacks of dubiousness for the All Progressives Congress, APC, to be accepting those it accused of corruption in its fold, saying the party shouldn’t be taken seriously.
He also urged the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, not to be bothered by the defection of those he described as featherweights.
He urged the party to close ranks and return to the vision of its founding fathers.
Ekpenyong, a former deputy governor of Akwa Ibom State, who said this in a statement made available to Sunday Vanguard, titled: Politics Without Conscience, said it is shameful that politicians who abused President Muhammadu Buhari now see him as a saint.
His words:“The way and manner politics is being played nowadays are not only devastatingly surprising but shocking. There was a time in the history of the country when Nigerians took great pride and an unwavering stance in their ideological political parties. But today politics isn’t just without ideology but also without shame. How do people talk from two sides of their mouths without conscience?
“The same politicians who used to abuse President Mohammed Buhari have today seen him as a saint. What a shame.
“Shame should control our lives in many powerful ways. And even though its rules are not written, we expect people to follow their sense of shame as a moral compass. When it comes to public figures, such as political leaders, we have even greater expectations for their moral standards. Should we worry, then, if political leaders become shameless?
“Jim Nwobodo abused the hell out of Buhari in Enugu in 2015, and later joined APC.
Godswill Akpabio abused the hell out of him in 2015, and later joined APC and became a minister. Ben Ayade used to make fun of him, but he too has eaten his words and joined APC. FFK( Femi Fani Kayode), after calling him a corpse, tribalist, killer, herdsman, etc. He has joined APC.
Amid the selfish celebration, the defectors claim their action is in the interest of the people, but in reality, they are merely looking for an exclusive domain to continue the exploitation of the same people. Now, to the essence of this piece.
“How can APC who accused PDP of corruption be accepting the same corrupt element into their fold? This shows the dubiousness of APC that all they wanted was just power and opportunity to vent their anger on Nigerians.
I use this opportunity to call on the PDP to close ranks and not to be moved by the defections of the deflated. Most of those decamping are featherweights that don’t have the backing of the electorate.
“The National Working Committee and the Board of Trustees (BoT) should get back to the drawing board and reinvest, the vision and the original mission of the PDP in 1998. If the party wants to take over power, it has to restructure and make itself the next alternative for Nigerians. We should learn from the mistakes of the past, especially when we were in power for 16 years, those mistakes that made Nigerians think otherwise.
“We can reignite the love again for the PDP. Good enough, the masses can attest to the difference between PDP and APC, although the PDP wasn’t perfect, it is not as nepotic as the APC where everything about Nigeria and Nigerians is moving backward. PDP still has a chance.
“The Peoples DemocraticParty should take advantage of the failure of APC because Nigeria still has the problem of corruption, intense insecurities and massive poverty. The nation is in dire need of leadership, leadership that can proffer a solution to the epileptic state we are now. The PDP should go back to the ideology of its founding fathers that made the whole nation fail in love with it and massively voted for the party in 1999.
“But the leadership of the party can take the party back to the people, where the people had the power and enabling environment to choose their leadership and their candidate. The party is about people and not the elite. Let’s go back to the structure of our foundation where the party was strong and the hope of the common man, the NWC, NEC and the BoT should reintegrate the party into the hopes and aspirations of the people.
“Nigerians are tired of insecurity, unemployment, massive corruption, nepotism and infrastructural decay. Those moving from one party to another because of selfish interest are not in tune with the reality that the electorate are tired of double-mouthed and fair-weather politicians and are waiting to show them the door in 2023. This dancing and cross carpeting do not affect the reality on the ground. The people are tired. This show of shame is no more interesting.’’
[Vanguard]
