Patriotic Front Secretary General Davies Mwila has instructed the party leadership in Central Province to take action against Kabwe member of parliament Tutwa Ngulube whom he says is the only obstacle that the ruling party has remained with.

And Mwila has asked former foreign affairs minister Harry Kalaba to give up his seat as member of parliament for Bahati constituency.

Speaking at a media briefing in Lusaka yesterday, Mwila announced that 2018 was a year of loyalty to President Lungu and that those members who were not loyal to the President must leave.

“We have been quiet as a party on the allegations coming from honourable Tutwa Ngulube and we thought that it is high time we responded to him. 2018 is about discipline and loyalty to the party and the President and all those who are not loyal to the party and the President, they are free to leave. Tutwa Ngulube is the obstacle that we have remained with and as a party, this year we will not take it kindly. If he is not ready to serve under the leadership of President Lungu or doesn’t want to continue with PF, he is free to leave. So this is a warning and I have given instructions to the Provincial Committee for Central Province to take action against honourable Tutwa Ngulube,” Mwila said.

“We have engaged honourable Ngulube on several occasions and he is a grown up person who knows that there are rules and regulations in this party which all of us have to follow. If he doesn’t want to follow, he has to leave the party, failure to leave the party, disciplinary action will be taken against him.”

And Mwila said the party in Luapula Province wanted Kalaba to resign as MP.

“We have received a petition from the Provincial Committee in Luapula Province where they have stated that honourable Kalaba must resign from the party. The reasons are that honourable Kalaba did state that the PF government is corrupt and that’s the more reason he’s leaving. So the PF leadership in Luapula is saying if the government which President Lungu is heading is corrupt, it will be ideal for honourable Kalaba to resign as member of parliament for Bahati and I want to state that as a party, we are ready for a by-election in Bahati and Roan Constituencies,” said Mwila.

“So us we are geared because we cannot allow someone to continue to serve under President Edgar Lungu whom he has said is corrupt. He (Kalaba) must justify how corrupt we are, if he had resigned and he had kept quiet, it would have been different but where someone says this government is corrupt then it becomes an issue. He must justify and he just has to leave the party, we won’t even suspend him because we can’t allow him to continue being in the party under the leadership of President Lungu who he says he’s corrupt, it doesn’t make sense.”