We write on behalf of
Senator Dr. Amadu Ali, GCON, to respond to some fallacies in an article of the
above title written by Professor Jibrin Ibrahim and published in some national dailies
and online publications (not CKN News) on Friday, November 18, 2016.
It is unfortunate that we
now live in uncertain times where history is no longer studied. Facts are no
longer sacred. Personal opinions are easily passed as truth. Logic and reason
are brazenly sacrificed for expediency and drama so much so that the narrative
about Nigeria, her institutions of governance and leaders are very often
distorted. This is why we consider it important to write to highlight the
fallacious statements made to diminsh Dr. Amadu Ali’s sterling record of
service as PDP National Chairman and to present the true facts for the benefit
of the reading public who may have been misinformed.
In the article in
question, the writer, Professor Jibrin Ibrahim stated that “At the height of PDP power, the party dismissed all of its members. As
the then Chairman, Col. Ahmadu Ali explained: “The PDP is full of members who
fraudulently obtained their party membership” (Tribune, 23/11/2005). As they all obtained their membership fraudulently, he
dismissed all of them and asked them to reapply... After a “thorough process of screening” suitable members were
recruited to organise the rigging of the 2007 elections.” (All
emphasis is mine)
Professor Ibrahim started
off well by taking the pains to confirm the reason for the membership
deregistration exercise that took place in the PDP in 2005, as explained by Dr.
Ali in the Tribune excerpt – which was clearly to address the then unacceptably
high prevalence of fake members who were fraudulently obtaining membership of the PDP.
One reasonably expected
that professor Ibrahim will follow the narrative that he established to reach
the only logical inference possible, which is to commend Dr. Ali for the
courage to take the bold step of working to mitigate the continuous abuse of
the PDP membership registration process and to restore credibility to the party
membership registration regime.
Instead, Professor Ibrahim
completely ignored the explanation of Dr Ali, choosing rather to plunge ahead
with a curiously unsubstantiated and
missing logic that led to a grievous and unfortunate conclusion which did not
evolve from the facts presented, did not agree with the explanations given by
Dr. Ali nor reflect the reality of the peculiar challenges within the PDP at the
time of the party membership deregistration exercise - After a “thorough process of screening” suitable members were recruited
to organise the rigging of the 2007 elections.” One is at a complete loss
to understand how Professor Ibrahim reached this unsubstantiated, totally false
and malicious deduction.
As Director General of
the Peoples Democratic Institute (PDI) at the time of the 2005 party membership
registration reform exercise in the PDP, I am privileged to have firsthand
knowledge of the facts. The PDP and the PDI had both received credible
intelligence of an unusually high incidence of arbitrariness in the party
membership registration process across the country. Specifically, it was
discovered at that time, a number of PDP State Chapters were complicit in printing
unauthorized party membership cards in concert with some senior party leaders.
These cards were then been used to register fake party members. It was also determined
that the then ongoing public feud between President Obasanjo and his Vice was the
major indicator of the growing incidence of arbitrary registration of fake
party members with fake party cards into the PDP.
To effectively mitigate
the growing incidence of fraudulent party membership registrations, Dr. Ali
introduced a fraud proof reform. The
plan was simple but effective. All PDP members were directed to submit
themselves for fresh registration. The party secured the services of a security
printing firm which reprinted its party membership cards with fraud proof
security features and the re-registration exercise was executed successfully nationwide.
Which is why it is extremely curious and disturbing that Professor Jibrin
Ibrahim will single Dr. Ali out for such harsh, unfair and unsubstantiated allegation
of “recruiting suitable members to
organize the rigging of the 2007 elections” It must be said categorically
that there was no recruiting nor organizing for rigging of any election at any
time under Dr. Ali’s watch in the PDP.
Indeed it is fair to
posit that a discourse on the feasibility of Nigerian parties becoming
democratic cannot be comprehensively and objectively undertaken without
acknowledgement and commendation for the measurable developmental strides of Dr
Ali in the area of political party building. For the benefit of the reading
public, it is pertinent at this point to briefly highlight just a few of Dr.
Ali’s seminal and innovative party reform initiatives:
ü Development of Permanent Party
Secretariat: Dr Ali became the first National
Chairman of any party in Nigeria to invest in the building of a permanent
secretariat for the party. He commissioned and received the architectural
design for the proposed new PDP secretariat; purchased a land for the building;
secured the title deeds of the land and; left N1 billion in the party’s coffers
for the commencement of the building before leaving office. This was Dr. Ali’s
way of demonstrating confidence in the fact that democracy has come to stay in
Nigeria and therefore the need for permanent structures to support political
parties.
ü Institutionalization of Cabinet
Secretariat: Dr Ali established what he called the
Cabinet secretariat to end the arbitrary nature in which party organs were
being administered. The Cabinet Secretariat provided the administrative resource
to coordinate, take and keep records of all party organs.
ü Review & Strengthening of Party
Constitution: Dr. Ali strengthened the constitution
by doing the following: removing and clarifying the ambiguity in the provisions
for party membership and eligibility; introduced clauses to clarify sources of
party finance and funding, membership dues and other sources of party funding; Article
21 which deals with offences and discipline was revised to make clear what
constitutes offence and what punishment or disciplinary measures members should
expect; but most impactful is Dr. Ali’s insistence
on the introduction of a new provision in Article 18 on Transparency and
Accountability in the Management of Party Finances.
ü Review & Strengthening of Party
Manifesto: Under Dr Ali’s leadership, the PDP manifesto was
reviewed and disaggregated into two substantive documents. Part one of the
manifesto, contains the philosophy, ideology and directive principles of the
party. Part two of the Manifesto, contains the programmatic objectives and
governance agenda of the party. It also details what is called the Irreducible
Minimum Objectives for states and Local governments under the control of PDP.
ü Party Leadership Capacity Building:
More than any other party chairman in Nigeria’s history, Dr Ali pursued an
aggressive strategy of executing seminars, workshops and policy retreats for
party leaders and members at all level with a view to building their leadership
capacity.
ü Preservation of Institutional
Memory: Recognizing the significance of articulating in
writing the record of the legacies of the party and its government for the
benefit of posterity, Dr. Ali commissioned the PDI early to research and
publish two books: one on the challenges, programs and legacies of the 5th
PDP NWC (Reforming the Rally into a Party: The Legacies of the Amadu Ali led PDP
NWC 2005-2008) and the second, on the policies and programs of the Obasanjo
administration from 1999-2007. (Giant Strides: The Programs, Policies and
Achievements of the PDP led Olusegun Obasanjo Administration 1999 – 2007)
ü Regime of Transparency and Openness:
Dr. Ali’s deep seated commitment to transparency, openness and accountability
to the party members and the general public and his stated desire to pull down
every barrier to free access to information led him to commission for the first
time in the history of PDP the development of an interactive website for the
party.
ü
Given the depth and
breadth of Dr. Ali’s transformative and reform oriented leadership of the PDP,
it is therefore not surprising that of all the ten (10) National Party chairmen
that the PDP has had from 1998 to 2016, Dr Ali remains the only one who successfully
completed his tenure; organized a successful convention and; handed over to a
successor National Chairman. Consistent also with Dr. Ali’s avowed commitment
to transparency and accountability, he remains to date the only PDP National
Chairman who left a surplus of about N2 billion in the party coffers as at when
he completed his tenure.
By any standard or stretch
of the imagination, Senator Dr. Amadu Adah Ali, fss, CON, GCON, FRCP Edin,
deserves commendation for his contributions to the democratization and
development of political parties in Nigeria and not ridicule or criticism.
Anthony Ubani, is a
former Director General of the Peoples Democratic Institute (PDI)
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