Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, has said a revamped Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) must stay true to its name and return power to the people, ahead of the 2019 general elections.
Ekweremadu’s call resonated with the Governor of Bayelsa State and Chairman of the party’s Reconciliation Committee, Seriake Dickson, who advised the PDP to make ordinary Nigerians own the party.
The governor said the power of the people is the best armoury the PDP can use to relaunch itself in 2019.
Earlier, Ekweremadu charged the party’s newly-elected National Working Committee (NWC) to ensure transparent and credible primaries, ahead of 2019.
The deputy senate president blamed the party’s defeat in 2015 on lack of internal democracy which he said manifested in imposition of candidates and blatant disregard for the party’s constitution.
Ekweremadu stated this in a keynote address he delivered at the opening of a two-day retreat for the NWC and state chairmen of the PDP, in Abuja, yesterday.
He said: “Another election year is by the corner.
“The new NWC must ensure that the party does not repeat past mistakes.
“We must return power to the people, as our name and slogan rightly demand of us.
“This will not only reassure Nigerians that we are, indeed, an improved and rebranded PDP, but will also encourage massive return of former party faithful.
“Furthermore, the public will evaluate our commitment to end corruption and promote accountability and transparency by the way we handle internal party affairs.
“We have a history of fighting corruption and our systems must be corruption-free.
“This should stand us out as the only hope to eradicate corruption in Nigeria.
“The PDP established the Independent Corrupt Practices and Related Offences Commission, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.”
The senator also warned against any form of undue interferences by the NWC in the affairs of the state chapters of the party.
“I appeal to the NWC to ensure that the state executives of the party enjoy the freedom to run the affairs of the party at the state level. The current NWC should emphatically denounce all forms of impunity and the politics of godfather and godson…”
On the party’s presidential ticket, Ekweremadu urged the NWC to provide a level playing ground for all interested and qualified aspirants.
“Of utmost importance in the build-up to 2019 election year is our choice of presidential candidate. The fate and political fortunes of the party depends on the party’s presidential candidate.
“The party must, therefore, identify a candidate with the credentials, reach, charisma, competence, and popularity to outmatch any candidate presented by the ruling All Progressives Congress and any other party for that matter. The party’s leadership should encourage every interested and qualified member to vie for the ticket in a free, fair, and credible party primary. Let the best candidate emerge.”
On his part, Dickson, who spoke at the party’s National Chairman’s Inaugural Retreat with the theme: Repositioning PDP For Dominance and Electoral Victory, which held at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, urged the leadership to resolve conflicts among members.
The governor, who spoke on a sub-title: Conflict resolution in a political party, urged the leadership to work for the people.
He noted that conflict resolution is the duty of all party men and women, not just for party leaders alone or the reconciliation panel.
Said Dickson: “…And, when a political party works in the interest of the people, it wins election which is very important for the survival and consolidation of the party. Parties exist to win election mainly to deliver service to the people .
Dickson also hinted of the preparedness of his committee to engage Prof. Taoheed Adedoja, one of the chairmanship aspirants in the party’s national elective convention, who has gone to court, seeking cancellation of the convention, with hopes he could be persuaded to withdraw his suit against the party.
Earlier, PDP Board of Trustees Chairman, Senator Walid Jubrin and Ekweremadu praised Dickson for calming frayed nerves.
|Sun