ABUJA — The National Chairman of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Okwesilieze Nwodo, has said he would take steps to endear the party to Nigerians.
Chief Nwodo, who admitted during a chat in Abuja that PDP has not been loved by Nigerians as much as it had won elections, pledged that he was prepared to change the public perception of the party.
He spoke against the background of recent losses suffered by the PDP which has lost four governorship seats to Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, and Labour Party in Edo, Ondo, Ekiti, and penultimate week, Osun State in recent times. The party also lost Anambra to APGA.
His words: “We were winning elections but not winning the hearts of the people. We were winning elections but if you go down there, I don’t think the people like us as much as we were winning because we were not delivering to them the dividends of democracy.”
Nwodo, who has launched a concerted image laundering campaign for the party, said it was established on very sound principles of social justice in an egalitarian society where all Nigerians can realise their full potentials.
According to him, he would return PDP to its original core values of internal democracy, low tolerance for violence and rescuing the party from god-fathers, saying that many founding members of the party had to leave the fold at a point when it was taken over by undemocratic forces.
On Nigeria’s development efforts since independence, Nwodo said ethnic and sectional politics held the nation down for 50 years and must be rejected, forthwith.
He, therefore, urged Nigerians to disregard politicians whose campaign are hinged on such issues rather than how they can improve the living standards in the country.
His words: “We have done it badly for 50 years. How can we do it better now? I want to vote for that person who can do it better. Who has a clear vision on how he is going to do it better. That is where the debate should be.
“Nigerians, after 50 years, we are tired of somebody telling me that because we come from the same place with me, that is why I should vote for him.
“Or that we are going to the same church that is why I should vote for him. Or we belong to certain cultural affinity or whatever, that is why I should vote for him, no. That campaign didn’t take us anywhere for 50 years.”
“I want Nigerians to vote for those people who can change our lives, wherever they come from”.
Concentrate on real issues that after Nigerians
Chief Nwodo said all PDP aspirants should concentrate on convincing Nigerians how they intend to provide infrastructure, water, electricity power and better health facilities for the public.
His words, “we want those campaigning to carry our flag understand the new face of PDP. They should understand that we hold integrity high, that we place very high premium on issues that border on the lives of every Nigeria.
How do we give them water to drink, how do we give them power, so that they can stay in their villages and generate industries and employment because there is 24 hours of power in the country side. How do we improve the quality of education that the Nigerian who leaves school can be self employed and if employed can give value to his employer?
How do we stop our people from drifting to India , UAE and other third World countries in addition to going to America and Europe when if they get there they are going to meet Nigerian doctors who are working in those places?
How do we provide the enabling environment for other people to come and meet Nigerian doctors in Nigeria?
The National Chairman of the ruling party said he wanted to leave a legacy, just like Martin Luther whose speech, produced current American President Barak Obama, adding, “our concern is what can we do now to create Nigeria’s Obama? Internal democracy. Our people must vote and we must create the enabling environment for them to choose”.
Consensus candidates whittled down quality of leaders in Nigeria
He also criticised the “consensus candidate” phenomenon, which he said has whittled down the quality of leadership in the country since 1999. According to him the process that produces the consensus candidates makes it impossible for the best candidate to emerge, thereby undermining the very ideal of democracy.
Chief Nwodo who vowed to reform the PDP said “where we got it wrong was in the selection of our candidates for elections. After Jos convention in 1999, we never had elective conventions again. We started consensus. We started imposition of candidates.
“So the competitiveness that is critical to bringing out the best leadership quality in our country through internal democracy were abandoned. This greatly affected the quality of leadership in our country.
“Other nations go to the World Cup with their first 11 and they never come back with the World Cup. Can you imagine a country that goes to the World Cup with its third 11. I think in some cases, Nigeria even went below the third 11.
“The central point of the message we are bringing is that internal democracy must came back. If we bring back internal democracy, in our party, we want to produce our first 11 to challenge other political parties in general elections”.
We want new crop of leaders
Chief Nwodo said he was working towards raising a new crop of leaders in Nigeria whose commitment to development and care for the people would not be doubted.
“We want to grow a new leadership in Nigeria that cares about the people, because for the people to elect you, they must trust you. You must convince them that you understand their problems and that you are going into power to solve their problems.
“That is why we have told all those you are aspiring to carry the flag of the PDP to forget the old tradition of coming to the National Secretariat. They should go to the people. Go and preach to the people,” he said.
He promised to be fair to all aspirants and ensure that delegates genuinely elect their flag bearers from the Ward up to the federal level.
His words, “if we provide a level playing ground for our primary elections and you have convinced the people to vote for you, we will be proud to present you”.
He expressed confidence that whoever wins the parties primaries between President Jonathan and Alh. Atiku Abubakar would receive the support of the other.
On the raging debate over the attempt by federal legislators to make themselves members of their parties’ Executive Councils, the PDP boss warned that if the law makers claimed they wanted to check the excesses of governors and in the process “install their own excesses then we are not safe”
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