The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Cross River State has threatened to deal with members who use their social media pages to insult party officials.
Chairman of the party in the state, Chief Venatius Ikem, issued the warning in a statement on Friday after a meeting with the party’s LG chairmen in Calabar.
“We seriously frown at the high rate of cyberstalking by some members on party officials, characterized by opening of unauthorized social media platforms where abuses are wantonly committed. Offenders will be punished to serve as deterrent to others,”; the statement said.
In a bid to sanitise the party in the state by identifying true party executives, the Cross River PDP leadership has authorized a verification exercise.
Ikem said the verification exercise will pave the way for a stronger, more unified party by the 2027 election.
He noted the continual enticement of PDP members to defect and commended the strong willed members for their resilience and refusal to be lured.
According to him, the enticement is a way to exploit the poverty the ruling party has institutionalized in the polity for political gains.
Ikem urged the party’s members to remain steadfast and loyal, emphasizing that PDP remains Nigeria’s most viable option for a brighter future.
He downplayed the defection of some party chieftains to the APC, saying such has no effect as the defectors are merely seeking immunity from their crimes.
Many of those that have defected lack ideologies, and cannot really point to any benefits they have gotten since their defections, he observed.
“Some defectors to the APC aren’t reaping any tangible benefits but rather seek to bask in the ruling party’s aura, while some unscrupulous officials are exploiting its membership as immunity from prosecution.
“In our assessment, these defections are largely driven by politicians who lack firm political ideologies and are highly motivated by venal interests,”; the statement said.
The statement noted that despite the defections from PDP to the APC in the state, many politicians have also defected back to the PDP alongside their supporters.
“The defection from one party to another is not only peculiar to Cross River State but across the states of the federation as some highly placed elected officials like governors are defecting due to lack of political ideology,”; the statement added.
