Anenih’s Call For PDP Automatic Ticket Undemocratic

The pan northern socio-political organisation,
Arewa Consultative Forum, on Wednesday in
Kaduna condemned the call by the Chairman of
the Board of Trustees of the ruling Peoples
Democratic Party, Tony Anenih, for an
automatic ticket for President Goodluck
Jonathan and state governors in the 2015
elections.
The ACF noted that the suggestion to exclude the
President and the governors from primaries was
anti-democratic and against the tenets of the
Electoral Act.
The Forum at the end of its National Working
Committee meeting also condemned the
controversy generated by the recent Nigeria
Governors' Forum's election.
The ACF in a communiqué signed by its National
Publicity Secretary, Anthony Sani, appealed to
governors and leaders of political parties in the
country to live up to their seminal roles of
providing order and direction to "our democracy
that is premised on liberty, justice, common
decency and sanctity of votes cast."
It read, "The meetings considered the controversy
that came from the outcomes of the election in
the Nigerian Governors Forum. NWC also reviewed
the suggestion by some leadership of the ruling
party that incumbents be exempted from party
primaries.
"All these developments are not democratic
because they seek to stifle internal democracy
within our democratic institutions, and, therefore,
are inconsistent with provisions of the Electoral
Act on internal democracy within institutions in
the polity."
The ACF said it "welcomed the progress made by
the joint meetings between the ACF and the
Northern Elders Forum for express purpose of
fashioning how best the North can pursue
common vision, common objectives, and
common strategy, for achieving northern unity
and peaceful co-existence needed for meaningful
socio-economic and political development, not
only of northern region but across the country."
The communiqué added, "NWC was called to
specifically asses the preparations for the AGM of
the ACF scheduled to hold on 20th/06/2013, in
Kaduna, as well as to review the unfolding events
in the polity and development in the efforts to
tame proliferation of different fora and groups
which profess to speak for the same North.
The meeting welcomed the progress made by the
joint meetings between the ACF and the Northern
Elders Forum for the express purpose of
fashioning how best the North can pursue
common vision, common objectives, and
common strategy, for achieving northern unity
and peaceful coexistence needed for meaningful
socio-economic and political development, not
only of northern region but across the country.
"Towards this end, ACF endorsed the setting up of
the Joint Action Committee of the two groups on
how best to pursue the common goals, group
cohesion and group coherence needed to make
the desired results come to pass."