QuoteOne of Peoples Democratic Party Presidential aspirant and son of Nigeria's First Republic Prime Minister, Dr. AbdulJhalil Balewa, has lambasted PDP leaders for endorsing President Goodluck Jonathan as the sole presidential candidate in 2015 election.

Balewa described Nigeria as the legendary Animal Farm where some animals are more equal than others.

He said Jonathan's adoption by the PDP National Working Committee was nothing short of "exuberance of wrongdoers."
While chatting with journalists on Friday in Abuja, he urged the Independent National Electoral Commission to ensure that every single person who feels he or she can deliver dividends of democracy to the people, is given a level playing ground.

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.