…Asks PDP to constitute reconciliation c’ttee

By Dapo Akinrefon

FORMER Deputy National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Bode George, yesterday, blamed the National Working Committee, NWC, for the party’s inability to win the 2023 presidential election.

Addressing newsmen in Lagos, George faulted the NWC for abandoning the procedure designed by the PDP founding fathers for the conduct of primary elections and congresses.

He, however, called for the constitution of a reconciliation committee to create a way forward for the party.

His words: “Having worked at the national secretariat for 10 years, the problem that resurfaces in every electoral period is very simple. It started during the period of Uche Secondus and I wouldn’t like to undress my party publicly. It is a monumental crisis but very simple to handle. The way the founding fathers designed the handling of primaries and congresses, they altered it, I won’t say more than that.

“But that is the major issue plaguing the party. You know our party is not owned by an individual but some people play and pretend as if they are working for the party. Those are the issues that we will discuss when we get back in the inner chambers of our party and we must change them. That was the methodology used when I was there and there was no crisis.

“A typical example is the primaries in Lagos either governorship, they will send people who don’t live here and who have no business here to come and conduct primaries. How can somebody from outside know your house more than you and by the time they land rather than allowing people to vote, they will be looking for the aspirants and they become their Automated Teller Machine, ATM.

“And once they finish they will run back to the national organising department to affirm the person they supported. But I won’t expand more than that and that is the major crisis which you see because, if you go to the bottom and do your primaries at the wards and local government levels and create division at that level, how can you fight the outsiders.”

On the need to constitute a reconciliation committee, the PDP leader said: “There should be no short approach, sweeping everything under the carpet is a foolish way to it. We must set up a committee that will go around the country, move state by state, and make enquiries what were their experiences, what happened to finances and the political aspect.

“How were the primaries conducted in each state? Who did what? Otherwise, what I am saying is that the party must conduct a meeting and we must set up a committee of very knowledgeable, loyal dedicated and committed leaders to visit every state of the federation for their experiences, where they did well, we will know, where they didn’t do well, we will also know. So they can bring the report and discuss it.”