PDP Chairman warns against misuse of social media, peddling falsehoods

The Acting Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Amb. Umar Damagum, has warned social media handlers and bloggers against peddling falsehoods capable of igniting unrest among party members.

Damagum gave the charge at the end of a 2-day capacity building on ‘Effective Media Awareness and Peace in the Political Arena for Social Media Handlers from Northwest States’, organised by the party’s support groups held in Birnin Kebbi on Wednesday.

Represented by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communications, Alhaji Yusuf Dingyadi, Damagum urged participants to sustain the propagation of party’s manifestos and vision.

While commending the organisers for the foresight, the party chairman assured supporters and loyalists that, “there is no vacancy in the party’s leadership positions.”

He condemned those aggravating internal differences within the party, especially interested groups that were more inclined to creating embers of hatred and division rather than progress, peace and unity in the PDP.

The chairman urged them to stop breeding disharmony and political instability capable of destroying the image of the party’s founding fathers’ vision.

Damagum reiterated that the present leadership would continue to tolerate and galvanise PDP into a party of forgiveness, cohesion and unity rather than injustice and propaganda.

This, according to him, will be achieved by carrying everybody along at all levels, saying, “I will not allow myself or any of the disciplined members into disreputable position of injustice.”

He called on the party elites and leaders across the country to strive hard in building a party of unity, discipline and progress, as against trying to destroy the good vision and political objectives of the founding fathers.

The chairman urged them not to become tools of character assassination of any individual or propagating falsehoods, hatred and mischief against each other, which are capable of destroying the party and its image.

”Overheating internal crises, leadership disharmony because of particular individual interest is akin to polluting the party’s unity, cohesion and progress which will destroy all the good things PDP stands for.

”Our party’s organs, especially National Working Committee (NWC) under my command are much more interested in providing reasonable solutions to our survival in the leadership rather than settling our scores or differences with lies and mischief which are capable of aggravating issues of disunity and hatred in our affairs,” he said.

Party Cohesion 

Earlier, the Head of Media Mobilisation and Political Awareness of the PDP Supporters Group in Nigeria, Dr Suleiman Aliyu-Gafai, said the workshop was organised to strengthen the capacity of social media handlers and streamline their activities towards party cohesion and unity in tandem with the founding fathers’ dreams.

Aliyu-Gafai described the leadership crises within the party as a disappointment, which negates the founding fathers’ vision of building a platform for unity, cohesion and political development in Nigeria.

He described the recent statement of the BOT Chairman, Sen. Adolphus Wabara, on support of party chairmanship from a particular zone as diversionary.

He described such acts was a way of inciting disunity which was unwarranted and uncalled for.

While assuring their support and loyalty To the leadership of the PDP under Amb. Umar Iliya Damagum led NWC, Aliyu-Gafai enjoined social media handlers to sustain their efforts in propagating the party objectives, visions and manifestos.

The training, which dwelled on leadership and challenges in digitisation was facilitated by the platform of Northern Professionals in Politics and Development (NOPDE).

Over 50 participants were drawn from Katsina, Kaduna, Kano, Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara States for the capacity building.

NAN