PRESS STATEMENT ON CNPP'S PRESS CONFERENCE ON MASS ACTION AND THE POSITION OF NCP

On Monday, 19 April 2004, the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) held a World Press Conference as part of its efforts to mobilize the Nigerian public for a mass action on 3 May 2004.

While the National Conscience Party (NCP) can easily be predicted to be in support of any mass action against election rigging, bad governments and their anti-people policies, the NCP has been compelled to inform the public that the CNPP leadership did not give the NCP an opportunity to make inputs into the text of the Press Conference which held on Monday, 19 April 2004.

The fact that the leadership of the CNPP could comfortably and conveniently exclude the leadership of the National Conscience Party in working out the processes leading to a purposeful mass action in this country raises serious doubts about its sincerity and commitment to a meaningful mass action. We thought the CNPP had everything to benefit by carrying along the NCP along with other forces, since, as it is said, politics is a game of number. It is therefore compellingly imperative to pose the question: Does the CNPP have any hidden agenda for deliberately excluding the NCP, even where the NCP specifically and persistently asked to be involved?

NCP STANDS FOR PRINCIPLED POLITICS AND OPPOSSES UNPRINCIPLED ALLIANCES

The National Conscience Party will always support any practical mass action to defend the economic and political interests of the Nigerian people. We therefore urge our members to continue their dogged and uncompromising opposition to all ruling parties, namely, the General Olusegun Obasanjo’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the center as well as the Alliance for Democracy (AD) and the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) in the states that have continued to rig themselves into power in 1999, 2003 and in the recently conducted March 27, 2004 Local Government Elections.

To us in the National Conscience Party (NCP), the AD and ANPP are equally guilty of mis-governance, corruption and violent methods of self-perpetuation in power in the States and Local Governments. For instance, in the entire South-West States, it was the A.D. governments that enacted the electoral laws between 1999 and 2003, which the PDP governments are now implementing to frustrate mass participation in politics by candidates of the NCP and other parties. For the CNPP to now isolate the PDP for attack while accommodating the AD and the ANPP that are equally guilty of the same undemocratic and unconstitutional policies can only mean one thing - unprincipled politics.

The NCP is a party known for its consistently principled positions on issues and Nigeria will continue to grope in the dark as long as parties and public office holders are not assessed on the same objective democratic and constitutional criteria. We object to the policy of silence and indifference when ANPP and AD are involved in undemocratic policies and practices but crying wolf only against the PDP. We are concerned that the CNPP in its text of press conference maintained an indifferent attitude to the undemocratic and unconstitutional policies and practices of the AD and the ANPP, particularly at the last Local Government Elections in January and on March 27, 2004.

The NCP will not be a party to unprincipled politics of some organisations that facilitated the betrayal of June 12 struggles, the murder of M.K.O Abiola and the exclusive and undemocratic transition elections of 1999. Personalisation of politics rather than issue-based politics led some parties to declare support for a presidential candidate while being silent on the anti-people policies canvassed and implemented by the same presidential candidate and his party.

While the National Conscience Party (NCP) appreciates the need to work in alliance with other forces, such collaborative efforts must be on democratic basis of discussion, consensus building and working out programmes and practical lines of action. Dictatorial and exclusive attitudes are not the attributes of organisations that can be relied upon to survive social and political pressures that the heat of any genuine mass action may generate.

OUR DEMANDS

The NCP reiterates its fundamental positions on the current national crisis as follows:

1. All the products of the fraudulently rigged 2003 elections, that is Presidential,

2. All the products of the unconstitutional, illegal and fraudulently rigged Local

3. A Sovereign National Conference should be instituted to find solution to the

Finally, we call on all our members and supporters to continue to organise against the misgovernance of our country, at the Federal, State and Local Government levels. At the appropriate stages, in consultation with other consistent democratic forces, dates will be fixed from time to time for mass rallies against misgovernance of our country, particularly abuse of power, corruption and arrogant dictatorship.

We assure the public that our consistency and commitment to good governance will never be allowed to be compromised by any group.

Chief Gani Fawehinmi, LL.D, SAN Femi Aborisade

National Chairman National General Secretary

May 2004