The non-love lost relationship between the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and employed staff of the party took another turn Saturday.
The staff, under the umbrella of PDP Staff Welfare Association, had on Friday, called for the resignation of National Working Committee (NWC) members for alleged fraudulent activities.
On Saturday, the workers in a statement by their leaders, Ngozi Nze and Dan Ochu-Baiye, Chairman and Secretary respectively, said they have incontrovertible evidence that the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh worked against the presidential candidate of the party in the 2015 presidential election, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan because he was not appointed Director of Publicity of the Presidential Campaign.
The statement added that Metuh was not considered for the job because he allegedly “squandered a whooping sum of N450 million media fund earlier approved for the office of PDP Publicity Secretary by President Jonathan.”
The group also accused Metuh of anti-party activities, noting that he openly endorsed the governorship candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) in the 2013 Anambra governorship election.
“Earlier in January 2010 Anambra governorship election, Metuh as National Vice Chairman, South East abandoned Chukwuma Soludo , the PDP candidate while openly galvanizing support for Hope Democratic Party candidate, his friend and benefactor. The PDP did not only woefully lose in Otolo Nnewi Ward 1 of the Party’s zonal vice Chairman but came a distant third in his polling booth! What a faithful party officer!” the statement added.
But in a quick response, Metuh’s Special Assistant, Richard Ihediwa said the PDP National Publicity Secretary is ready to offer himself and his private companies for probe by the Department of State Services (DSS) or any other government agency for that matter.
“This office is happy that those after Chief Olisa Metuh have for now, chosen to demand for investigation instead of resorting to plots to assassinate him. “However, we restate that the National Publicity Secretary will not in any way be cowed or intimidated by the threats, blackmails and attacks by anti-PDP forces to abandon his mandate as spokesperson of our great party,” the statement added.
It noted that those behind the statement chose to drift from issues and narrowed on the National Publicity Secretary, but said this was not unexpected given the role Metuh is playing in rebuilding PDP and how uncomfortable the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has been for his outspokenness.
“We are aware that the anti-PDP forces have easily found a handful of disgruntled PDP staffs as willing tools to attack Chief Metuh with a view to bringing him to public odium, distract him and deny our party a credible voice to propagate its positions. These forces had even gone to the extent of engineering some discontented PDP members to portray statements by the National Publicity Secretary as his personal opinions in the attempt to discredit and intimidate him.
“For the avoidance of doubt, we wish to state categorically that the National Publicity Secretary will not be deterred or detracted by such threats and cheap blackmails as he remains committed to his role in the rebuilding of the PDP and in providing firm, credible and issue based opposition to the ruling party,” it added.
The staff, under the umbrella of PDP Staff Welfare Association, had on Friday, called for the resignation of National Working Committee (NWC) members for alleged fraudulent activities.
On Saturday, the workers in a statement by their leaders, Ngozi Nze and Dan Ochu-Baiye, Chairman and Secretary respectively, said they have incontrovertible evidence that the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh worked against the presidential candidate of the party in the 2015 presidential election, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan because he was not appointed Director of Publicity of the Presidential Campaign.
The statement added that Metuh was not considered for the job because he allegedly “squandered a whooping sum of N450 million media fund earlier approved for the office of PDP Publicity Secretary by President Jonathan.”
“Earlier in January 2010 Anambra governorship election, Metuh as National Vice Chairman, South East abandoned Chukwuma Soludo , the PDP candidate while openly galvanizing support for Hope Democratic Party candidate, his friend and benefactor. The PDP did not only woefully lose in Otolo Nnewi Ward 1 of the Party’s zonal vice Chairman but came a distant third in his polling booth! What a faithful party officer!” the statement added.
But in a quick response, Metuh’s Special Assistant, Richard Ihediwa said the PDP National Publicity Secretary is ready to offer himself and his private companies for probe by the Department of State Services (DSS) or any other government agency for that matter.
“This office is happy that those after Chief Olisa Metuh have for now, chosen to demand for investigation instead of resorting to plots to assassinate him. “However, we restate that the National Publicity Secretary will not in any way be cowed or intimidated by the threats, blackmails and attacks by anti-PDP forces to abandon his mandate as spokesperson of our great party,” the statement added.
It noted that those behind the statement chose to drift from issues and narrowed on the National Publicity Secretary, but said this was not unexpected given the role Metuh is playing in rebuilding PDP and how uncomfortable the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has been for his outspokenness.
“We are aware that the anti-PDP forces have easily found a handful of disgruntled PDP staffs as willing tools to attack Chief Metuh with a view to bringing him to public odium, distract him and deny our party a credible voice to propagate its positions. These forces had even gone to the extent of engineering some discontented PDP members to portray statements by the National Publicity Secretary as his personal opinions in the attempt to discredit and intimidate him.
“For the avoidance of doubt, we wish to state categorically that the National Publicity Secretary will not be deterred or detracted by such threats and cheap blackmails as he remains committed to his role in the rebuilding of the PDP and in providing firm, credible and issue based opposition to the ruling party,” it added.
