The recent suspension of one of the founding members of the Peoples Democratic Party in Gombe North East Nigeria, Alh Bala Tinka, by the party’s leaders has continued to create confusion and deepening rift in the party.
While a good number of party members are still behind the suspended member, some others who see him as a threat to the unity of the party are in support of his suspension.
Though all attempts by LEGISREPORTS to speak with certain key leaders of the party proved unsuccessful, some reliable sources who spoke on the basis of anonymity revealed that, most prominent members of the party under the aegis of Gombe PDP Elders Forum viewed Bala Tinka’s recent political maneuvers in the state as worrisome.
The sources described Tinka’s political activities as championing corruption and selfishness, which according to them, was responsible for the absence of democracy dividends which has eluded electorates due to failure to meet the yearning of the people of the state.
Even though Bala Tinka is one of the founding members of the party in the state, he has not been finding it easy at the hands of the elders forum of the party who all seem to be working tirelessly to ensure that he is given the boots out of the party.
Party leaders of the PDP who held crucial meetings recently at the party secretariat in Gombe, rallied the support of executive members of the party at the state level and thousands of party supporters including the 11 local government chairmen and secretaries of the party.
It was unanimously agreed in a resolution not to consider having Tinka’s suspension lifted due to allegations of intended mischief in party affairs and execution of self agenda leveled against him.
According to them, the party had been in a political web that has deprived it of progress overtime, and therefore denounced the game of discrimination and “use and dump” of party members by Bala Tinka.
The party claimed that the presence of Bala Tinka in the party was supposed to witness transparency within it, but same only turned out to be a family affair.
It was also noted that the party must work towards strategies that will be adopted in the party to make sure that credible elections were conducted in up coming elections so as to avoid cases of candidates emerging against the wishes of the electorates.
However, political observers in the state have described the whole incident as a political battle in which leaders of the party are trying to gang up against the suspended founding member to destroy his political career.
On his path, Bala Tinka claims he had never shied away from working to move the party forward.
According to him, his efforts were in the best interest of the party and people of Gombe state.
Tinka said that no amount of intimidation will make his activities derail from its focus of leaving a blueprint for the development of the state in accordance with the political promises of the PDP.
Tinka also debunked accusations leveled against him by party leaders as lacking transparency in the running of the party.
He cautioned the forum to be aware that despite the challenges the party faces, some groups did not want to see his achievements in the party, saying, “they have prepared to tarnish my image and wipe away my history in the party.”
He also claimed that his activities in the party has really moved the party forward, adding that the present administration under the leadership of Gombe State Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo and his cabinet were behind him because of his laudable achievements in the party.
Tinka also accused the party’s leadership of being biased, and a forum lacking people of integrity, alleging that it was in fact made up of people of questionable character looking for a platform to pursue their selfish ambitions without having the party’s interest at heart as claimed.
He said no stake holder in Gombe that truly loved the state would be contented seeing a division the way the elders of the party did.
“Those disgruntled elders are out to cause problem by setting brothers against brothers because government has failed to honor their monetary demand,” he said.
He maintained that members of the elders forum in Gombe state who held leadership positions in the past did not assist citizens of the state as much as he did.
Tinka therefore called on the government not fold its hands and allow such people set the state on fire, noting that if they actually meant well for its development, they would on the contrary have contributed through supporting government’s efforts along the right direction rather than painting it black.
Source: Legisreports
