BY SEGUN ADEBAYO, ABUJA – The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says with Nigerians daily growing wary of the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s alleged maladministration, it is the party to beat in the area of good governance and unity ahead of the 2019 general elections.
This is as the main opposition party took a swipe at one of its chieftains and former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Chief Godsday Orubebe, who had declared the PDP as heading towards shipwreck.
According to Orubebe, the problems of imposition, impunity, arrogance and greed that caused PDP’s failure in the 2015 polls still exist in the party, adding that the party “is still lost in depression and suffering from a Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).”
However, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, on Tuesday, the PDP debunked Orubebe’s claims, saying the party, having been repositioned and rebranded, remained the best political platform that can take Nigeria forward on the path of good governance and national unity.
Ologbondiyan said aggregating the views of party members and Nigerians on the way forward, the PDP has since perfected a level playing field that no individual or group can claim ownership or control of the party under the current chairmanship of Prince Uche Secondus.
He said fears expressed by Orubebe, were rather misplaced as the issues contemplated in his open letter were no longer obtainable in the repositioned PDP, stressing that, “It is also obvious to all, that our great party, under the leadership of Prince Uche Secondus, has since been thrown open to all Nigerians for equal and unhindered participation, a development that has led to the renewed interest of Nigerians on our platform as the only true vehicle to return the nation to good governance.”
The PDP spokesperson further stated that the party has “already moved forward by inviting members who had left the party and the responses, which we have received so far, have been very encouraging. Not just that, our party is also receiving new members from other political parties and we will soon commence an online registration to capture the old, new and returning members with equal rights, opportunities and privileges.
“It is imperative to inform that with the proposed membership drive through the online registration, it is certain that the party is being returned to the people, whose financial contributions would make them the true owners of the PDP.”
He said the PDP, as a political party, with mass support of Nigerians and representing all interests across the six geo-political zones, the 36 states of the federation and the FCT, has through its new leadership succeeded in bringing all its members on board.
Ologbondiyan added that the party is working hard, more than ever before, to rescue Nigeria from the “misrule of the dysfunctional All Progressives Congress (APC), even as he urged all PDP “members to continue to propagate the ideals of our party and engage only in activities that promote unity and the tenets of democracy in line with the vision of our founding fathers and the overall interest of our dear nation.”
The PDP image maker said; “Today, Nigerians across board are waiting on the PDP to navigate our collective quest for a return to good governance, national cohesion and economic prosperity and we cannot afford to disappoint them.
