The Chairman of the Stake holders' Council of the Peoples Democratic Party

(PDP) in the South West, Chief Lekan Balogun yesterday warned that the country’s democracy was under threat, following the walk-out of some state governors from the mini-convention of the party in Abuja last Saturday.

Balogun in a statement entitled 'Ego: Threat to Nigerian

Democracy' in Ibadan, described the action by the governors as demonstration of ego and lawlessness. He added that the action of the governors was a serious assault on the nation's democracy.

He said that the Nigerian democracy, more than ever before had come under

serious assault from the seven governors that walked out on the party leaders

during the recent PDP national convention and this very act was a singular

demonstration of egoism, the same egoistic act that got PDP into this mess in

the first instance.

The PDP chieftain said “a governor is not a party leader in the state, though a number one provider of resources to run the party which has wrongly created

this level of swollen headedness, but, it takes a high level of maturity for a governor to recognize that the party deserves his respect. “This problem has become compounded with the creation of the Governors' Forum.

You can have a forum for any group of political actors/role players, the

Senators' Forum is an instance, but, it has never got into conflict with the

party. “In the case of the governors, the Governors' Forum has become so powerful that it now threatens the leadership of the party culminating in the recent childish and irresponsible walk-out by the governors half-way into the convention.

According to him, the governors seem to be either oblivious or contemptuous of the fact that the convention was a creation of the law granting INEC the right to give approval for the convention and also superintend it. Balogun equally observed that the action had serious implication on the party,saying, “one implication of this very act and its fall-out in the days ahead is that, it has not only undermined the authority of PDP as a party, but also poses a threat to the democratic health of the nation”.

While warning that the people might be left with no other choice than to resist “this lawlessness in a popular bid to protect and preserve their budding democratic institutions and processes”, he maintained that “the masses are getting increasingly disappointed with the growing irresponsibility,lawlessness and egoistic tendencies on the part of those voted into political office”.

He affirmed that such political office holders as the representatives of the

people “are  expected to be temperate in their conduct and in the exercise

of power vested in them and more importantly demonstrate appreciable respect

for the law and constituted authorities”