A former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Bode George, has expressed concern over the state of the opposition party, attributing its challenges to selfish interests among its members.
Speaking at a news conference in Lagos on Thursday to mark his 79th birthday, George called for urgent steps to rescue the party ahead of its forthcoming National Convention.
He said, “As a loyal party man who lives, thinks, talks, breathes and defends the PDP, I have never left this party since it was formed, so today gives me a great opportunity to deliberate on the future of our party.
“Even as elders of the party are preparing to meet on Nov. 28 in Abuja to chart the way forward, I owe it a duty to declare openly that all is not well with our party. In fact, our party is derailing.
“This is unfortunate because the crisis in our party has further complicated the present tragedy in the socio-economic indices of our dear nation.
“I am raising the alarm today that our party is at the precipice of a dangerous looming crisis, if pending critical party issues are not urgently addressed.”
The PDP Board of Trustees (BoT) member said that while the party leadership was trying its best to ensure all members had a sense of belonging, some ‘desperados’ were doing everything possible to thwart their efforts.
Calling for a united PDP, George said that the party’s founding fathers, who had gone to the world beyond, would be crying in their graves because PDP has become “a shadow of itself due to selfish interests of some members.”
He described as disheartening and pitiable a situation where some pretentious members were already working for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the build-up to the 2027 elections.
George said, “They have one leg in PDP and another leg in APC. Such chameleonic characters are the ones trying to dictate the direction of this party.
“In the name of everything that is dear to our great party, this pretension must be stopped immediately by patriotic members of this party.
“Since the first elective convention of our party in 1999, when PDP was handed over to some of us as national officers, we have never had it this bad.
“If the PDP must rescue Nigerians from the vicious grip of APC in 2027, this must be a major agenda item during our NEC meeting in Abuja.”
Expressing the belief that the PDP was the only party that could save Nigeria, George said that the party must be ready to seize the opportunity to move the country forward.
According to him, the party must not allow disloyal elements to continue to use the platform for their selfish interests, saying “disloyalty is a very grave offence.”.
He added, “Unless we are united, with equity, fairness, and justice being the pedestal for any political decision taken, this party will be heading to disaster in 2027.
“If we want to win the 2027 presidential election, we should not allow ourselves to be divided, and those with divisive tendencies should be told in clear language that ‘Enough is Enough’.
“We must change the narratives now so that we don’t embark on a suicide mission, a self-destructive journey for our party in 2027.
“With the suffering in the land and the mismanagement of the economy, Nigerians are waiting for us in 2027 to kick APC out of Aso Rock.”
He urged the party members and leaders from the North to the South to use the forthcoming PDP’s 99th National Executive Committee meeting as a golden opportunity before the next general elections in 2027 “to bury our differences and put on our thinking caps.”
According to him, the party should do everything humanly possible to ensure that the PDP does not go into the dustbin of history in 2027.
On the political crisis in Rivers and the feud between Gov. Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor and Minister of FCT, Mr Nyesom Wike, the PDP leaders urged Wike to “cool off immediately.”
Urging party leaders not to treat Fubara like an outcast, George called on all party leaders to rise in defence of the general interest of the party and sanity.
He said, “We should not allow the collective unity of this party to be fragmented. How we collectively address the issues at stake will be a major determinant of the fate of this party in months and years to come.
“It is our determination to ensure that the PDP returns to the Presidential Villa in Abuja on May 29, 2027, but, we can only go back to Aso Rock if we are united, not divided.”
He urged party elders such as Bamanga Tukur, Jim Nwobodo, Ahmadu Ali, Prof. Jerry Gana, Jonah Jang, Peter Odili, James Ibori, former President Goodluck Jonathan, and ex-Vice President Namadi Sambo to rise to the challenges.
The PDP chieftain also urged Victor Attah, Donald Duke, Okwesilieze Nwodo, Ibrahim Shema, Rabiu Kwankwaso, Saka Balogun, Ebenezer Babatope, Bello Haliru, Sen. Adolphus Wabara, Ahmed Makarfi, and others not to keep quiet.
George called on the Chairman of the PDP BoT to invite all the afore mentioned elders for a meeting on the way forward before the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting.
He said, “We cannot afford to fail and disappoint our founding fathers. Let me state categorically that Nigerians are waiting for us in 2027, but we must put our house in order.
“As leaders, we must not allow anybody to destroy our party because PDP is the only true national party.”
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