The Deputy Governor of Bayelsa state, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo has advised those decamping from other political parties to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party in the state to rule out the possibility of getting any benefits from the party soon.
The deputy governor described politicians who have made defection their stock in trade for appointments and other political gains as enemies of democracy in the country, urging already defected and intending defectors to the PDP to look elsewhere for such undue benefits.
It could be recalled that the PDP in the state has been receiving defectors from other political parties especially the All Progressives Congress (APC) to its fold in recent times even as the opposition APC has maintained that those defecting are not card carrying members of the party.
Ewhrudjakpo, while granting audience to the Forum of Former Vice Chairmen and Political Secretaries of local government councils in the state at his office in Government House, said the PDP knows those who stood by her during trying times and would work with them instead of those he described as “political prostitutes.”
He decried a situation where the system gives recognition to politicians who decamp and return only after elections at the expense of those who showed true loyalty to the party through thick and thin as unacceptable.
Senator Ewhrudjakpo noted that politics as practised in the country does not promote integrity and ideology as most politicians are not ready to make sacrifice, but want to be satisfied by the system at all times
The Deputy Governor, however, assured that although the Peoples Democratic Party would always open its doors to accommodate defectors, the present administration will continue to identify committed party members and reward them accordingly.
He also used the opportunity to plead with loyal and active PDP members who are yet to be rewarded to be patient with the present administration.
“Our political system has refused to develop because of political prostitution and inconsistencies. So, the political children we are having are products of an adulterous system with a lot of vagabond behaviours.
“People don’t want to make sacrifice, but they want to be satisfied. Our tree of leadership is growing on the manure of blackmail, lies, deceit and doubtful loyalty.
“Loyalty should not be seasonal; it should be there in and out of season. If our loyalty is determined by the plate of porridge we are served each time, then it is not true loyalty.
“Unfortunately, the leadership tree in our state and country is thriving on the fertilizer of decamping, lies, and inconsistent behaviours.
“So the leadership is always skewed towards negative reward system. We have a system where people decamp unnecessarily and later return when it is time to eat, and we seem to embrace them more than those who had been with us all along.Â
“It is a major disincentive in the politics of Nigeria. But this administration will try as much as possible to identify with those who stood by us when it mattered most,” he said.
Responding to the Forum’s demand for payment of their severance entitlements, Senator Ewhrudjakpo directed its leadership to make a comprehensive list of their members and forward same to his office for consideration.
Speaking earlier on behalf of the Forum of Former Vice Chairmen and Political Secretaries of Local Government Councils in the state, Mr ThankGod Jerusalem made a plea for government to look into the settlement of theirs severance benefits.
Mr ThankGod Jerusalem, who is a former vice chairman of Yenagoa Local Government, said though the benefits were owed by the previous administration, government should help clear them to assuage the difficulty facing members of the forum.
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