The acting national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ambassador Umar Damagum, has warned social media handlers and bloggers against peddling falsehoods capable igniting conflict within the party.
The chairman gave the warning at the end of 2-day capacity building on Effective Media Awareness and Peace in the Political Arena for Social Media Handlers from Northwest states, organised by the party’s support group in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi state capital.
Damagun, represented by his senior special assistant on Media and Communications, Hon. Yusuf Dingyadi, urged participants to sustain the propagation of party manifestos and visions, saying PDP is bigger than any individual.
While he commended the organisers, the party chairman assured supporters and loyalists that there is no vacancy in the party leadership positions.
He condemned those aggregating internal differences within the party, especially interested groups that are more inclined to creating embers of hatred and division rather than progress, peace and unity in the PDP..
The party chairman reiterated that the present leadership would continue to tolerate and galvanise PDP into a party of forgiveness, cohesion and unity rather than injustice and propaganda by carrying everybody along at all levels.
He called on party elites and leaders across the country to strive hard in building a party of unity, discipline and progress and not trying to destroy the good vision and political objectives of the founding fathers.
He also urged party members not to become tools of character assassination of any individual or propagating falsehoods, hatred and mischief against each other which are capable of destroying the party and its image.
”Over heating internal crises and causing leadership disharmony because of a particular individual interest is akin to polluting party unity, cohesion and progress which can destroy all the good things PDP stands for.
”Our party organs, especially NWC under my command are much more interested on providing reasonable solutions to our survival rather than settling our scores or differences with lies, maligned peoples character and mischief which are capable of aggravating issues of disunity and hatred, ” Damagum said.
Earlier, the head of Media Mobilization and Political Awareness of the PDP Supporters Group in Nigeria, Dr Suleiman Aliyu-Gafai, said the workshop was organised to strengthen the capacity of social media handlers and streamline their activities toward party’s cohesion and unity in tandem with founding fathers’ dreams.
Dr Gafai described the leadership crises within the party as disappointment which negated the founding father’s vision of building a platform for unity, cohesion and political development in Nigeria.
He said the recent statement of certain group of people, especially BOT chairman, Sen. Adolphus Wabara, on supporting party chairmanship from a particular zone was diversionary and a way of inciting disunity which was unwarranted and uncalled for. He said it encouraged lack of confidence on someone who is supposed to unite his children on common goals.
He called on party leaders and members, especially from northern part of Nigeria to unite and struggle to make the party a formidable platform that would salvage the country from draconian rule of All Progressive Congress (APC) through producing the next president by strengthening unity, forgiveness and discipline.
He added that the party’s outstanding performance during the last 2023 elections was always acknowledged as PDP’s Atiku garnered overwhelming votes from the region.
While assuring their support and loyalty to the leadership of the PDP under Ambassador Damagum led NWC, he enjoined social media handlers to sustain their efforts on propagating good party objectives, visions and manifestos as well eschew sentiments along with actions that can tarnish the party image.