The Senator representing Ogun East Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Buruji Kashamu, has blamed the National Caretaker Committee of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) led by Ahmed Makarfi, for the poor performance of the Party in the just concluded governorship election in Anambra State.
He also described Makarfi’s leadership of the Party as “a disaster and the worst nightmare for our party.”
The senator spoke against the backdrop of the dismal performance of the PDP in the Anambra State governorship election held on Saturday, which was won by the All Progressive Grand Alliance’s candidate, Willie Obiano.
In a statement he issued on Sunday after the PDP came third behind Obiano and the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Kashamu said, “it is clear that Makarfi and his allies have brought ill-luck to the PDP.”
He added, “Makarfi and his team came as if they were the saviour that the PDP was waiting for but they have turned out to be the ones who are killing the party with their illegality, impunity and self-centredness. They believe they can do anything and get away with it. They did it in Anambra where all the popular aspirants were disenfranchised and the ticket was sold against democratic norms. Today, the party is worse off for the dastardly act of these interim caretakers.
“It was bad enough that the interim National Secretary, Senator Ben Obi, lost his ward; that the constituents were rejoicing over his disgraceful loss is indicative of outright communal irrelevance. This calls for concern from our national leaders that specialise in unreasonable harmonisation and imposition of unpopular candidates over the popular ones.”
Speaking on the activities leading to the National Convention of the party, Kashamu said it was regrettable that “Makarfi is surprisingly betraying his constituency, the North, and reducing the PDP to a southern or regional party because of his presidential agenda. But, I know that the average northerner is politically conscious, sagacious and dynamic.
“Thus, logic is likely to prevail over the thinking that elections at the national convention shall be a bazaar for the highest bidder, irrespective of the likely hazard to the existence of the party. This will discourage the misappropriation of state funds for unworthy political misadventures.”
He said at the rate Makarfi and his people were going, “anyone who wants to become anything in the PDP would have to first go and pay obeisance to a demi-god in Rivers State and his orchestra special assistant from Afao-Ekiti, Ekiti State.”
