A group within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peoples Democratic Advocate (PDA), has accused the Caretaker Committee Chairman, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, of trying to deny Alhaji Abubakar Mustapha the opportunity to vie for the position of national secretary.
The group urged party leaders to ensure that no imposition of candidates was allowed in the forth coming national convention, stressing that positions should be allowed to be contested by members.
Mustapha is one-time national publicity secretary of PDP from Kaduna State who recently declared for national secretary.
PDA in a statement said it had aligned itself with the Enugu declaration whereby party stakeholders agreed that positions must be contested at the convention, especially where there was more than one aspirant.
According to the statement released by the Chairman, Adamu Ahmed Dattijo, the body accused Makarfi of trying to deny Mustapha the opportunity to vie for a higher position, as equity and justice demanded.
The statement said: “Because of the attempted manipulation of the Makarfi-led Caretaker Committee to deny Alhaji Mustapha the opportunity to vie for a higher position, as equity and justice demands, we are in support of the Enugu declaration because it tallies with the universally-acceptable standard definition of equity, fairness and justice.
“We are amazed at the misinformation making the rounds that the position of the national secretary, which was never micro- zoned, has been micro-zoned and even micro-named to Katsina State on the false assertion that Kaduna and Katsina states were under a rotational arrangement, which confers on each state a right to produce a candidate over the other alternately.”
The group said it defied any logic and common sense to consider the same scenario with different panacea.
“What operates in the caliphate states of Zamfara, Kebbi and Sokoto is an attestation to our postulations.
“The last national treasurer was from Kebbi State. But the position of woman leader that ought to be rotated was further micro-zoned and micro-named to Kebbi State, thereby suggesting that the action of the conveners was anything but equitable and just.
“We are aware that the chairman, Caretaker Committee, in pursuit of his known trait of impunity, which he has been exhibiting in the course of his duty and in furtherance to his presidential ambition, has decided to stand on grounds where angels fear to tread by subsuming any person’s interest within the state under his threshold.
“The Enugu declaration has put paid to any attempt to foreclose any chance for a national contest. We stand resolutely and firmly with Alhaji Mustapha as our aspirant from Kaduna State for the exalted position of the national secretary. He has the requisite experience, pedigree and competence to manage such an exalted office. We hasten to add that there has never been any such arrangement of exchange of batons between Kaduna and Katsina states.”
They urged delegates to vote for Mustapha, saying among other candidates, he remained the most qualified, based on his antecedents.
