Jonathan promises to speak on why, how PDP lost 2015 presidential election

Advocates reduction of delegates to conventions
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has said that he will soon disclose the factors and characters behind the 2015 electoral loss of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

Jonathan, who said this yesterday when he received a delegation of former Speakers of State Houses of Assembly who paid him a courtesy call in Abuja, also advised the party’s leadership to take steps to reduce the number of statutory delegates in elective conventions to minimise crisis.

He said: “PDP is still the strongest party. We know the reason why we lost elections.

“People maybe writing left and right; at the appropriate time, some of these things would be properly addressed because of history.

“There are certain things you don’t write now because it would be misunderstood as if you are playing politics.

“After some years, five, six or eight years, when the beneficiaries have left, you can state it in writing and people will not fight with you.”

The former President, who noted that one of the major challenges facing the PDP was how it elects candidates and national officers, said there would always be crisis after party’s primary elections or conventions until the numbers of statutory delegates to those elections were reviewed to about 70 per cent.

He said the party must work out modalities in which no one person could influence the delegates to elections.

Also, he canvassed that those who had served at certain levels, including governorship, ministerial and parliamentarian positions should be made statutory delegates.

However, the former president, who advised PDP members not to be intimidated, said: “There are stories of corruption. I say this will always be there because if you read the statement of the organisers of the first military coup, their statement was attributed to corruption.

“After that, it is always corruption. It will continue to be but one day, we will get out of it. Most nations passed through this stage of life.

“The only thing I plead is for you not to politicise certain basic things. Issue of corruption, yes, it is worrisome. Nobody will encourage it.

“The society must come up with reform to reduce it if you cannot eliminate it totally. No society is 100 per cent free of some of these vices but the approach with which you go about it is key.

“You may approach it in a way that it will become detrimental to the society. It should be done in a way that will enhance the development of the nation.

“So, we encourage people to do well.”