The Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP) has shut down its social media platforms, saying some of
them have been hijacked.
The PDP, through its verified Twitter handle @PdpNigeria, had said on
Sunday that it was taking responsibility for the country’s low points
during the party’s 16-year reign.
But Olisa Metuh, PDP spokesman on Monday said the statement did not
represent the position of the party, adding that its Twitter account was
hacked.
“The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) observed
that in the course of the 2015 campaigns, personal positions and
opinions of our party members were generally reported in many instances
by the media as official positions of the PDP,” he said.
“We have also noted that some of our new media handles, our Facebook and
Twitter accounts, have been hacked, resulting in series of unauthorized
releases, with the latest being Sunday’s post quoting our party as
accepting responsibility for failure in the last 16 years; a statement
which could not have come from the PDP that has a robust record of
achievements in all sectors of our national life within the period.
“However, now that the campaigns are over, we wish to notify the general
public, especially the media, that henceforth only statements,
utterances and positions of the national chairman and the national
publicity secretary or any other national officer of the party
authorized by the national working committee shall be regarded and
reported as the official position of our great party in line with the
relevant provisions of the PDP constitution.
“For purposes of clarity, this directive does not in anyway affect the
inalienable constitutionally guaranteed rights of our members as free
citizens to hold and air opinions but such personal opinion must not in
anyway be rendered or reported as the official position of the PDP.
“Consequently, media houses, particularly the electronic media and the
civil society, should note that only authorized persons should be
invited to speak or stand in for the PDP for interviews, debates, talk
shows or any other media appearance whatsoever.
“Furthermore, to halt the embarrassing trend in our social media
handles, the party has decided to decommission our official Twitter and
Facebook accounts for now, to pave way for proper overhauling of the
system.
“The foregoing is pursuant to our determination to rebuild and
re-position our great party, instill discipline in our fold, check
unnecessary divergences and put the PDP on a strong footing to regain
power in 2019.”
PDP added that in the new spirit of rebuilding and re-positioning, the
national leadership charges all aggrieved members to channel their
grievances through the appropriate organs of the PDP for redress using
the internal conflict resolution mechanisms that abound in our party.
“Finally, we urge the media to always crosscheck with the relevant
officials of our party on official matters before going to press,” it
added.
Party (PDP) has shut down its social media platforms, saying some of
them have been hijacked.
The PDP, through its verified Twitter handle @PdpNigeria, had said on
Sunday that it was taking responsibility for the country’s low points
during the party’s 16-year reign.
But Olisa Metuh, PDP spokesman on Monday said the statement did not
represent the position of the party, adding that its Twitter account was
hacked.
“The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) observed
that in the course of the 2015 campaigns, personal positions and
opinions of our party members were generally reported in many instances
by the media as official positions of the PDP,” he said.
“We have also noted that some of our new media handles, our Facebook and
Twitter accounts, have been hacked, resulting in series of unauthorized
releases, with the latest being Sunday’s post quoting our party as
accepting responsibility for failure in the last 16 years; a statement
which could not have come from the PDP that has a robust record of
achievements in all sectors of our national life within the period.
“However, now that the campaigns are over, we wish to notify the general
public, especially the media, that henceforth only statements,
utterances and positions of the national chairman and the national
publicity secretary or any other national officer of the party
authorized by the national working committee shall be regarded and
reported as the official position of our great party in line with the
relevant provisions of the PDP constitution.
“For purposes of clarity, this directive does not in anyway affect the
inalienable constitutionally guaranteed rights of our members as free
citizens to hold and air opinions but such personal opinion must not in
anyway be rendered or reported as the official position of the PDP.
“Consequently, media houses, particularly the electronic media and the
civil society, should note that only authorized persons should be
invited to speak or stand in for the PDP for interviews, debates, talk
shows or any other media appearance whatsoever.
“Furthermore, to halt the embarrassing trend in our social media
handles, the party has decided to decommission our official Twitter and
Facebook accounts for now, to pave way for proper overhauling of the
system.
“The foregoing is pursuant to our determination to rebuild and
re-position our great party, instill discipline in our fold, check
unnecessary divergences and put the PDP on a strong footing to regain
power in 2019.”
PDP added that in the new spirit of rebuilding and re-positioning, the
national leadership charges all aggrieved members to channel their
grievances through the appropriate organs of the PDP for redress using
the internal conflict resolution mechanisms that abound in our party.
“Finally, we urge the media to always crosscheck with the relevant
officials of our party on official matters before going to press,” it
added.
