PDP was hijacked by Pharaohs - Iwuanyanwu
- So many reasons have been attributed to why the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lost the presidential election in 2015
- A prominent chieftain of the party, Chief Chyna Iwuanyanwu, says there was a cult within the PDP
- He went on to give insights on how the party can overcome its challenges ahead of the 2019 elections
A former national chairmanship aspirant of the PDP, Chief Chyna Iwuanyanwu has attributed the party's loss of the 2015 presidential election to a cult within the former ruling party.
Speaking to Legit.ng in an exclusive interview, Chief Iwuanyanwu stated that a cabal took over the PDP and didn’t run it like a democratic party.
According to him, the goodwill of the Nigerian people was hijacked by the cabal in the PDP which he described as 'Pharaohs.'
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His words: “A cabal took over this party and didn’t run it like a democratic party, but for them it is a business.
“From House of Representatives, they go to the Senate, from Senate back to minister, from minister, they want to be president. They perpetuated themselves, so there was a cult within the PDP.
“And we say open the political space, so PDP at a point, took for granted, the goodwill of the Nigerian people and was hijacked by people I call Pharaohs.
“They were despotic, they were tyrannical, they were brutal, they were not connected to the vision of the founding fathers of the PDP So, PDP became a democratic party without the people. So, people faced another way and they crossed.”
Asked how the party can bounce back to national reckoning, Iwuanyanwu said the way forward for the PDP is to go back to the original vision of the founding fathers.
He also advised the current leaders of the party to adopt the the principles and basic tenets of democracy which he said are openness and transparency.
When Legit.ng probed him further on his thoughts on how the party can move forward, Iwuanyanwu suggested that the party go back to the drawing board to address the grievances of the party officials and ensure that the era of impunity is over.
He said: “I ran for the national publicity secretary in 2012/13. It is people like us who were victims of the impunity, the imposition, the lack of internal democracy.
“We are victims, but we have remained steadfast. We didn’t go to court, because we still believe in the PDP. We’re the ones who can provide the way forward, not those who inflicted these wounds on the party.
“Somebody like me revolted (when the PDP was in power). I have never gotten a contract in the PDP since 1999 till date. No appointment. I used my own money to contest for the chairmanship because I knew something was wrong and I have something to offer.
“I warned the PDP that there was a need for a paradigm shift on the drift that happened with Obasanjo’s third term. We spoke out. Those Pharaohs were very brutal in crushing us. The only thing I didn’t do was to go to court. Those who felt they have an alternative decided to move to the APC. Those are the ones we should be talking about.
“We remained in the party and continued to fight the fight inside. But the man you’re fighting is your president, is your vice president, is your party chairman, is your BOT chairman, they will still determine your future. So, if you remain there, you must complain in a systematic way.”
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Meanwhile, the former United States of America ambassador, John Campbell has suggested that President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption war is suffering 'push back' from opposition members especially those from the PDP.
“There is push back against President Buhari’s anti-corruption campaign, especially among the opposition Peoples Democratic Party. Some claim that Buhari is using the EFCC to go after his political enemies.
“In the predominately Christian parts of the country, there are also murmurs that the anti-corruption campaign is part of a Muslim effort against Christians,” Campbell wrote on the website of the Council on Foreign Relations’ published on Friday, October 6.
Iwuanyanwu speaks on the PDP crisis and other national issues on - Legit.ng TV
Source: Legit.ng
