Balewa’s son insists on contesting PDP presidential ticket

A Peoples Democratic Party Presidential aspirant and son of Nigeria’s First Republic Prime Minister, Dr. AbdulJhalil Balewa, has criticised the endorsement of President Goodluck Jonathan by the party to seek re-election in 2015.


Balewa says Nigeria has become the legendary Animal Farm where some animals are more equal than others.

He described Jonathan’s adoption by the PDP National Working Committee as “exuberance of wrongdoers.”

Speaking with journalists on Friday in Abuja, he advised the Independent National Electoral Commission to make sure that every single person, who felt he or she could deliver the country was given the opportunity to do so.

He said, “This is about our country. We have had so many different things happening. We have gotten to a point that we have not been able to create institutions. I know that our democracy is supposed to be so young, especially this situation that we are in. But, without creating institutions, we will have no historical lineage.

“In democracy, everything that happens at the federal level, has to trickle down to the ward. Everybody needs to be able to have some recognition, whereby what happens at the Presidency should be repeated at the state level, at the governorship level and down to the ward.

“When you create some rules at the Presidency and you create another rule at the ward level, what do you think we are getting? We are getting Animal Farm, where some animals are more equal than others. That is not democracy. We need to have homogeneity.”

Balewa therefore advised the so-called powers-that-be in all political parties “and not just the PDP to look very closely at other democracies in the world.”

He added, “We do not need consensus candidacy, what we need is to be heard. Anyone that feels that he or she has something to give to this nation, should be allowed. I will want PDP to have a rethink over it. I am not conceding to any consensus arrangement. Let’s face the primaries.

“We cannot say we have a democracy and then we go communist at the same time, whereby we say this is the one that we choose. But only a few people do that and not the rest of the country; everybody wants his or her votes to count.

“This is another appeal to INEC, that for our democracy to last, INEC should make sure that every single person that thinks that he or she will be able to deliver something for this nation, should be allowed.”

While bemoaning the lack of internal democracy in Nigerian political parties, he said Nigeria should replicate it in line with global trends.

He said, “If we are practising internal democracy, we should show it. Charity begins at home. If there is internal democracy, Nigeria’s democracy will grow. Why I am more interested than many persons is that I honestly believe that come 2015 and with the rate at which Nigeria is going, I am the better leader for Nigeria and I must have the opportunity to let my people know what I can offer them.

“The adoption of the PDP NWC, is not totally correct. It is not President Jonathan’s fault. It is the exuberance of wrongdoers that have created such situation. The constitution of the NWC of the PDP to present to the NEC, without a convention, without any voting or primaries, is not the path of the PDP. They should all sit down and know that what we are trying to do is not noble.”