Our constitution guarantees that everyone alleged of any crime or offence is presumed innocent until he is proven guilty.
I have just read the statement of one group by the name PDP National Youth Frontiers (PDNYF) calling for the resignation of Chief Olisa Metuh, the National Publicity Secretary of our great party who is being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on allegations of corruption. It is important to also note that this same group claimed in its press statement to be speaking for our great party and ascribed some roles to itself which are completely alien to any known logic or reason of party politics.
First, I must start by saying this group PDPNYF is a fraud and does not and can never speak for our great party or its youth. I am aware of the group’s APC roots having been absorbed by our Youth Directorate as one of the numerous APC Youth Groups that defected from the APC when they found out that the APC had no plans for young people immediately after the choice of a 64year old Youth Leader for the APC. We are not shocked that they are now doing the bidding of the APC having monitored their mercenaryroles, i.e always asking for money each time they are to carry out any role or specific assignment especially by the person of Mr. Usman Austin Okai. The majority of young people supporting our party are not money oriented or “food is ready politicians” who move about seeking for what to eat or collect in the name of politics while at the same time selling their birthrights for a pot of porridge.
I am calling on the Directorate of Youth of our great party led by the Youth Leader to sanction Mr. Usman Austin Okai and his so called PDPNYF. This group is not recognized by the leadership of our party but only worked with the Youth Directorate led by our Youth Leader during the presidential election campaigns. This group can never speak for PDP. The PDPNYF is only a Facebook and Twitter account that operates on the Internet and should not be taken serious or relied upon as a member of our great party or should ever be quoted as speaking for our party. It is not known to either the National Working Committee or the Board of Trustees of our great party.
The internet group’s call for Chief Metuh’s resignation is a hatchet job which I believe the group was paid to do by some elements in APC. You will all recall that Chief Metuh had hinted in the past that certain people have been commissioned to tarnish his name and image at all cost; I am convinced that the so called PDPNYF is one of such groups. I cannot understand why anyone will assume Chief Metuh has committed any crime just because of the fact that he is under investigation by the EFCC. Is it a crime that former president Goodluck Jonathan called Olisa Metuh to carry out an assignment for him and paid him for such a job? Is it a crime that Olisa Metuh carried out such an assignment and reported back to the former president? Is it a crime to be alleged of a crime? Are people now guilty in Nigeria until they can prove they are innocent? Why will Olisa Metuh resign his position when he is innocent?
Deji Adeyanju is director of Social Media of the People’s Democratic Party. He is also a former aide at the Presidency. He tweets from @adeyanjudeji.
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
