PDP comes under fire over George’s BoT appointment

The Peoples Democratic Party has come
under criticisms for appointing an ex-
convict, Chief Bode George, into a panel to
reorganise its Board of Trustees.
A Lagos High Court convicted George in
2009 for fraud after he served as Chairman
of the Board of the Nigerian Ports
Authority. He spent two years in prison.
Legal practitioners as well as civil rights
groups, Anti-Corruption Network and
Coalition against Corrupt Leaders, on
Sunday, condemned the PDP’s action,
saying the party had no respect for the
public.
Executive Secretary of ACN and former
member of the House of Representatives,
Mr. Dino Melaye, and the Chairman of
CACOL, Debo Adeniran, said the PDP’s
decision was akin to legalising corruption.
Melaye said, “Almost everybody in the party
(PDP) is an ex-convict, only time will tell.
The party is about corruption, so
corruption and corrupt persons mean
nothing to them. He (Bode George) is still
carrying our national honours and so you
can see.”
Adeniran said, “Nobody is expected to
associate with a corrupt convict that has
not been discharged of the burden of guilt
because such people will not do anything
to discourage similar crimes.
“He is not going to discourage people of
doubting integrity from assuming office as
a political leader. By implication, such
characters will infest others with the
criminal virus because he exemplifies
corruption. And since like begets like,
whatever decision taken by any committee
he is a member can only be seen as lacking
in integrity.”
But two Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Rotimi
Jacobs and Yusuf Ali, who spoke to our
correspondents, differed on the issue.
Jacobs, who is a counsel for the Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission, while
condemning the development, said it was
an indication that the PDP was not sincere
in its anti-corruption war.
He said, “Is that how the PDP will be
fighting corruption? Is that how the ruling
party will fight corruption? For a party that
is supposed to be fighting corruption, it is
a very sad development. It is the shame of
a nation.”
But, Ali noted that despite his conviction,
George had the right to belong to, and
participate in the activities of a political
party.
He added that the appointment was a PDP
affair, and that the party was not the
Federal Government.
Ali said, “The party is not the government.
We should not equate the party with the
government. Since he belongs to the party,
he can function within the party.
“Even conviction cannot stop somebody
from belonging to a group or a trade
union. If he belongs to a group, he can
take part in the activities of the group. It is
different from taking public office.”
Meanwhile, a member of the PDP BoT, who
spoke on condition of anonymity, said the
President suggested George’s name at the
meeting where the decision was taken.
The source said, “The President suggested
his name. You know this is politics; the
President is losing followership in the
South-West and other zones, so the best
he thinks he can do is to look for those
who can work with him.
“If he thinks an ex-convict is the best
person to reorganise his party, so be it.
“Don’t forget that he said recently that
another ex-convict, Chief Diepreye
Alamieseigha is his benefactor.
“Ironically, both George and Alamieseigha
were convicted for corruption. He has the
right to choose his friends.”
When contacted, the Secretary of the Board,
Senator Wali Jibrin, declined to speak on
the matter.
Asked whether the appointment would not
send a wrong signal about the country’s
fight against corruption, he said, “I don’t
know anything about that.”
Culled: Vanguard