Sowunmi, who was speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s “Politics Today” on Thursday night, following the suspension of the former chairman, Iyorchia Ayu and the reversal of the suspension of some other members of the party, said the PDP’s actions was a testament to its efforts to remain democratic.
“You know the difference between the PDP, and our friends, the rivals APC, is that as a habit, we really strive to obey court orders. Even when the orders are offensive, and they have far-reaching consequences on us, we always strive to obey it. And when we take a decision, and there is an outcry that ‘Oh, you can’t go this way, you can’t go this way’, what makes you know that we are a democratic party is that we have the uncanny ability to call ourselves bac.
The suspensions of Fayose and co, did not go down well with a lot of party members, why? Because we felt that after an election that we are challenging in court, we shouldn’t be seen to be injuring ourselves or casting blames, especially when we have not done a review of that election. Therefore, we felt that oh, it may seem like victimisation, especially when we know where these entrenched interests are. So, we cried out, and thankfully and luckily, our NWC, they took a second review of the order, and they have stepped aside that suspension”.
Sowunmi, cited instances of the disobedience of the ruling APC, including the prolonged disobedience of the federal government to the Supreme Court order directing the Central Bank of Nigeria to recirculate old naira notes, and the contempt charge against the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa, adding that democracy would thrive when everyone there is obedience to the rule of law.
“Democracy is not pretty. It is a very heavy contestation of ideas, mood, inflections, attitude, human behavior, and characteristics. But one thing is certain, democracy thrives when we obey the rule of law.”
