Group slams PDP automatic ticket principle

From Umar Dankano, Yola

A non-governmental organization under the auspices the Adamawa Central Youth Consensus Forum (ACYCF) has kicked against the move by National Working Committee (NWC) and the national leadership of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to offer automatic tickets to incumbent senators for the 2015 General elections.

The Chairman of the Forum, Comrade Idris Baraya, disclosed this in an interview with journalists in Yola, saying that the proposed endorsement allegation is a threat and challenge to Nigeria’s nascent democracy.

Baraya pointed out that democracy is all about a system that guarantees and gives free and equal right to every person and group to participate in government through election process, but not by selection and endorsement by party leadership.

He maintained that democracy is all about government of the people, by the people and for the people, which was established based on equal opportunity as against the privileged few individuals.

He also explained that what is presently happening in the PDP where incumbent senators and other office political holders are said to have been given automatic tickets for the 2015 general elections, which is a clear violation of the Nigerian Constitution and the PDP constitution as a whole.

He said that the forum strongly condemned the move and called for immediate restoration of true democracy in the party so that all members that already purchased forms to contest for various positions should be allowed to go for primary election.

He further explained that the reason why some senators are after automatic ticket is because they knew they will not scale through in the party’s primary elections due to their poor performances.

Baraya therefore, appealed to President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and the party’s National Working Committee to review the decision and allowed democracy to prevail in PDP.

“PDP is a great party; we should not allow some privileged few to destroy the party because of their selfish interest.

“All those that bought forms to contest for various positions on the platform of the party should be allowed to go for primary election, because by allowing people to contest is the only way of exercising their given right as Nigerians.” Baraya said.