The south-West zone of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has urged the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) to do rid itself of its “holier-than-thou attitude” concerning the rumpus over the conviction of Chief Olabode George, a chieftain of the PDP because the opposition party is itself filled with ex-convicts, such as its National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande who was jailed in 1984 by the Muhammadu Buhari military regime for fraud. PDP stated that the same way Bode George was convicted was also the way the ACN Akande was jailed for fraud by the General Mohammadu Buhari Military Regime in 1984 and wondered how a pot could continue calling the kettle black.
Zonal Publicity Secretary of PDP, Hon. Kayode Babade, who stated this on behalf of the party, challenged ACN to convince Nigerians on why convicts in the folds should continue to be shielded while the opposition party feasts on Bode George’s predicaments. It also asked the opposition party tell Nigerians why Chief Akande, who, by the jail term in 1984 is an ex-convict, should continue to chair the party and why Femi Gbajamiala, a member of the National Assembly under the ACN who was allegedly convicted for professional misconduct by the Supreme Court of Georgia, should continue to hold an elective office to the point of emerging the Minority Leader of the Federal House of Representatives.
The PDP, in a statement made available to Huhuonline.com, stated that it had followed with keen interest and dismay the continuous media attack on the person of its former Deputy National Chairman, Chief Bode George by the ACN and its cohorts, the latest being the criticism of Bode George’s appointment as a member of a panel to reorganise the PDP Board of Trustees. “While we do not want to bother ourselves with the propriety or otherwise of Chief Bode George’s conviction not for stealing a dime of public fund but for flouting procedure for award of contracts, we make bold to say that the ACN as a party does not have the required moral standing to chastise Bode George or any other person for that matter because its own National Chairman was equally jailed for stealing funds belonging to the old Oyo State,” a part of the statement read. “Interestingly, Bisi Akande was only released from jail and not pardoned by the Ibrahim Babangida government, and Buhari, whose government jailed him (Akande) is now his political mentor and rallying figure for their much-touted merger party.” PDP added that it was late Chief Sunday Afolabi who prevailed on the Osun State PDP not to seek legal redress on Akande’s conviction in relation to his qualification to contest election as a governor in 1999.
“Apart from Akande, was the ACN Leader in the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila not also convicted in faraway United States of America for stealing his client’s money?
” “If these characters in the ACN have any sense of shame, they ought to know that despite his conviction, Bode George had the right to belong to, and participate in the activities of a political party the same way Bisi Akande is the National Chairman of the ACN despite being an ex-convict. Can conviction stop anyone from belonging to a group or a trade union? And if he belongs to a group, can’t he take part in the activities of the group?”
The ruling party further advised the “ACN hypocrites to clean their stinking house and leave Chief Bode George alone to live his life and exercise his constitutional rights,” reiterating its right to appoint Chief Bode George as member of a panel to reorganise its Board of Trustees (BOT).
