The Action Congress (AC) has slammed the PDP for seeking to gag its Senators who have been complaining of the Yar’Adua administration’s painfully slow pace, calling the ruling party the biggest threat to the survival of democracy in the country.

In a statement in Lagos, yesterday, by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, AC also said the PDP had shown, by the comments credited to its Chairman, Mr. Vincent Ogbulafor, that the so-called “anti-Yar’Adua Senators are on their own - that it cannot tolerate enlightened discourse and opinions that do not conform with its jaundiced stand on issues.

“When PDP outsiders criticise the party, either on electoral reforms or any other issue, the party attacks such critics in a ferocious and vicious manner, calling them names and describing the opposition as being in ‘tatters’ or lacking internal democracy.

“Now, the critics are from within the PDP, and the party has moved fast to crush and disowned them, simply for even seeking to goad the snail-riding administration into action. Which party is in tatters now? Which party lacks internal democracy now? Which party is so disdainful of freedom of speech and democracy than the PDP?’’ AC queried.

The party said the Senators, who have used a civilised means to convey to President Yar’Adua that they are not happy with his administration’s poor performance after almost two years in the saddle, are indeed the real friends of the President, who simply want him to buckle up and make the impact of his administration felt by the long-suffering people of Nigeria.

“They are the true representatives of the people who sent them to the National Assembly. They visit their constituencies regularly and can feel the pulse of their people, who are simply not happy with the non-performance of this administration. They should be proud to be representing their people well, and should not succumb to a few PDP hawks whose interests lie simply in feathering their own nest.

AC hailed the Senators for their courage and forthrightness in calling the attention of the President to the worsening conditions of living across the land, and urged them to resist being labelled anti-Yar’Adua or being gagged by a starry-eyed party chair, who is more interested in having his party rule for 100 years than seeing it make a positive impact on the lives of Nigerians.

Concerning Ogbulafor’s lamentations that the PDP’s grip on the South-west is slipping, we can only tell the PDP Chairman that he has not seen anything yet.

“Rail-roading the South-west under its tattered umbrella has proved to be a disaster for the people of the region. They have consequently resolved to use their brooms to sweep away the footsteps of the usurpers. Ogbulafor should be ready for the shock of his life, as the people of the South-west - and indeed of Nigeria - will surely use all democratic means to remove all the traces of the PDP from their lives," AC said.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/content/view/33172/46/

lol, tattered umbrella