FDC Finally Accept To Take Over IPOD Chairmanship To Oust NRM Gov’t

By Ronald Nahabwe

Najjanankumbi: The Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) has finally accepted to take over the leadership of the Inte– Party Dialogue (IPOD) in an effort to implant their party ideas against the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) government.

Party spokesperson Ibrahim Ssemuju told the press on Monday that other parties like NRM and Democratic Party (DP) were insinuating that they are reluctant to take up the leadership of this voluntary organization upon expiry of DP’s term.

Ssemuju said “The term of office for the Democratic Party expired on September 25th, 2019 and we legally according to our Memorandum of Understanding, took over the IPOD leadership. ’

He added that “According to the MOU, IPOD leadership rotates every after every six months. The FDC, therefore, is currently both the chair of the IPOD Summit and IPOD Council. The Summit is composed of leaders of political parties and the Council is composed of the Secretary Generals and other four representatives.

The Government and Opposition Whip are also members of the Council. The DP President General Hon. Nobert Mao and DP Secretary–General Dr. Gerald Siranda have been the IPOD leaders respectively.’’

The FDC has taken over and awaits the official handover ceremony and handover reports from both Hon. Mao and Dr Siranda. The DP took over IPOD on March 25th 2019.”

He also revealed that the FDC Secretary General Hon. Nandala Mafabi will, on consultation with the IPOD Summit Chair Hon. Eng. Patrick Amuriat, present proposals on the issues the FDC wants IPOD to consider in the next six months of our leadership.

MP Ssemuju notes ” We are aware of some manoeuvers by some IPOD colleagues to illegally handover leadership to another party. They want to skip FDC because it refused to sit on the same table with the dictator Yoweri Museveni.’

The FDC would like to remind the country and our colleagues in IPOD that this organization was formed to strengthen multiparty in Uganda and a culture of democracy.

IPOD Council sat and agreed on the management of public rallies and meetings sometime back in Munyonyo. We, the five political parties represented in Parliament, agreed on a set of regulations. They were supposed to be ratified by the Summit.

Unfortunately, when our colleagues convened a not fully constituted Summit, Museveni refused to sign the agreed regulations. “

He told them that he had given different instructions to his security chiefs and needed to convene a meeting of the National Security Council to discuss the IPOD regulations.

To date, Museveni has not convened the National Security Council to reverse his draconian orders. As a result, our rallies and meetings are still being interfered with.

The FDC considers access to the population a major issue in the political processes of our country. Removing the military and Police from our politics if achieved, will be the single most important thing IPOD has ever done.

Negotiating an end to the life presidency will be another milestone. This is what the IPOD must strive to achieve.
There are colleagues who accuse us of benefiting from IPOD money yet we don’t want to meet with Museveni. We want and we will advise colleagues not to create an impression out there that IPOD is all about money.