The PDP had only been receiving new members into its fold and not campaigning for general elections coming up in 2015, the party’s Chairman in Plateau, Dr Haruna Dabin, has explained.
Dabin told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Jos on Sunday that this was in consonance with the fact that “a political party is just a social mobilisation outfit.
PDP cannot start any campaigns now because it has no candidate for the 2015 elections yet.’’
The ruling party had come under heavy criticisms by both the opposition and political analysts over its rallies in some state capitals.
NAN recalls that such rallies had taken place in Kano, Enugu, Sokoto, Kaduna, Bauchi, Minna and Owerri, among others.
Dabin held that people were merely confusing INEC’s position on the matter and the statutory responsibility of political parties.
“A political party is just a social mobilisation outfit; what the PDP has been doing lately is to receive new members into its fold and that does not translate into campaigns.
“It is not the first time political parties are receiving new entrants.
“You remember that the APC started it by receiving even governors and senators that defected to their fold. No one accused them of campaigning.
“Again, it is also fair to draw a line between President Goodluck Jonathan and PDP member Goodluck Jonathan.
“When Jonathan visited Sokoto, Owerri, Kano and the other towns recently, he did so in his capacity as a PDP member and not necessarily as President.
“It is always good and fair to draw the line’’, he said.
Dabin noted that there had been calls for Jonathan to seek a second tenure, but said the President was yet to declare his stand on the matter.
“You campaign if there are candidates or aspirants, but there is none now. So, for whom shall we campaign? And what shall we be saying?
“All we are doing now is receiving defectors and as far as I know, no INEC law forbids that’’, he declared.
Dabin appealed to politicians and political analysts to be fair to the President in their interpretations of such visits, stressing that PDP was a law abiding outfit that would always respect due processes. (NAN)
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