Leaders were architects of PDP’s misfortune, say Tukur, Idris
• Ex Kogi gov asks party to replace them
A FORMER National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur has described the emergence of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the ruling party in Nigeria after the 2015 general elections as a result of peoples’ quest for alternative to a failed party.
According to him: “Democracy is government of the people by the people for the people. So, if the PDP fails to deliver on its promises, people will go to the alternative.Change is always good, provided it is going to bring better alternative.”
Meanwhile, former Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris has advised the PDP to disband it’s leadership at the national level immediately to pave way for its return to power in 2019.
The former governor who stated this yesterday in Lokoja at the state PDP Elders Advisory Council meeting, said with the lackadaisical manner APC has been conducting it’s affairs it would be an easy ride for his party if it changes the top leadership and bring in new blood who will inject better into the party .
Tukur who spoke while featuring in a Kaduna based Liberty Radio programme, Guest of the Week at the weekend, blamed the PDP’s woos on lack of internal democracy.
He explained that the APC made all their members relevant by allowing them choose their leaders thereby guaranteeing internal democracy .
On the ordeal that forced him out as National Chairman, Tukur pointed out that: “Jonathan did not insist I leave the party, there are people in the PDP who felt I should not practice what I preach because discipline is very important.
Following the laws you established, is very important.When you do not want to follow the laws you established and you don’t change them, you have problems.
“President Jonathan could not protect me due to the powers of the governors, the governors ate very powerful and therefore, if you do not do what they want, you are done away with and I believe nothing can be done to them.”
Tukur also threw his weight behind President Muhammadu Buhari , just as he urged Nigerians to allow him lead lead the nation at his calculated pace .
On insecurity in the north east, he said: “In 2013, when Boko Haram elements started to emerge I said to Nigerians:If the country is attacked, all Nigerians must come together and resist such attack.”
Idris said the PDP has all it takes to wrest power from APC in 2019 if it changes its ways quickly and brings in new leaders , adding that the ruling APC does not have enough grip to stay in power for more than one term.
According to him, “PDP lost the last election because we were too proud. We were doing things out of the normal and thinking that the party will still continue to win election as usual but we got punished for it.
“However, there is hope for us to regain power. But we must first change our leaders. We must embrace fairness, justice and truth.
“Its not out of place for PDP to win the presidency in 2019. It will happen.
On the forthcoming election in the State, Idris indicated that PDP will be making the costliest mistake to allow APC win the governorship election. “It will be the biggest mistake if any other party takes over Kogi from PDP. I cannot imagine any other party taking away power from us. It will be the highest level of disgrace to us.
“Kogi is still a PDP state, nothing has shaken us, we are not afraid of the opposition. We have all it takes to deal with the opposition.”
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3 Comments
In what planet EXACTLY is this is this Ibrahim Idris living?
According to him, the reason the “PDP lost the last election [is just] because we [they] were too proud”? It was only because “they were doing things out of the normal and thinking that the party will still continue to win election as usual but we got punished for it.”? And that was all?
And all that the party now needs to do DIFFERNTLY is “to make changes [in their prior] ways and bring in new leaders,” and they will be swept back into power by Nigerians in 4 years? The party “must first change our [their] leaders…[and embrace fairness, justice and truth.”
And that’s all? Really? Notice that he didn’t includes in this list of what the PDP will need to do different, anything like rampant CORRUPTION, CORRUPTION, CORRUPTION! Or the total looting of the public treasury!! Or non-performance in a whole 16 years of governance! Nothing about any of that!!
All I can think of is, in what planet is this man actually living? What a day dreamer to think that Nigerians will be in any mood to bring the PDP back into the old position for them to re-ignite the looting the national treasury within even the next 10 or 20 years, or more! No wonder his party is known as the Peoples DECEPTION Party (PDP)!
Now that Turkur has spoken, I think Igbo boys should forget about their hatred for Yoruba or Tinubu as the lose of PDP is self inflicted.
Letter to the present leadership-cum-Chair of the PDP:
if the PDP
wants to successfully re-brand / re-model itself: (1) First, it should
call a National Conference of its NEC – to make changes to its
constitution. One of the most important constitutional changes it should
make is: (a) to adopt those cardinal policies, which were showcased
during the most recent Presidential elections (2015), i.e. to massively
enrol youths and women into their party; (b) not only bringing in women
and youths into their party, but most importantly, to change those
clauses in their constitution, which hinders women and youths from
taking up most important political and bureaucratic posts in that party;
(c) to make bold and be ready to weed out those, who would oppose these
positive changes in their party. (2) Secondly to set-up strict
parameters for party membership.
These strict parameters should include the following:
(a) no more admittance of those, who have betrayed their party more than twice in the past or recently;
(b) *** especially those, who openly denounced and tore their party’s
membership card either secretly or in the public;
(c) those, who decamped back-and-forth more than twice from the party.
(3) thirdly, the party should draw up a Road Map to empower women and youths, who are members of the party –
to act as role models to attract those honest-to-goodness Nigerian women and youths watching from outside.
(4) Adopt stringent modalities to screen would-be members; stop admitting “all comers” and any decampee from
other parties into your party;
(5) Bring down drastically the fees for registering for any election – from Local government, State to Federal
elections;
(6)
Equal or rational distribution of bureaucratic positions between women,
men and youths in the party on a “40:40:20”-basis. No cheating (to be
backed by law). (7) Anyone, who takes the party executives to court or
adopts double party organisations without exhausting internal party
democratic process to settle problems should be suspended; and when
these acts of insubordinations happens twice, should be finally
expelled. Finally all new and old members should be made to sign-up to
these constitutional changes and a biometric registration should be set
in motion – without further delay. Tough luck!
From Charlieakpeumoh
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