PDP campaigning instead of rebuilding, says PGF DG

THE Director General of the Progressives Governors Forum, Dr. Salihu Lukman, has while congratulating the Peoples Democratic Party for holding a successful national convention, berated the party for focusing on 2023 elections instead of rebuilding.

Lukman said this in a paper titled, “Opposition Politics and Campaign for New Nigeria, which he made public in Abuja, on Monday.

According to him, leaders of the opposition party deserve commendation for setting aside their differences and respecting democratic principles in electing a new set of leaders. It should be noted that it was easy for the party because it was no longer in power.

He said,  “With the successful conclusion of the PDP National Convention on Saturday, October 30, 2021, credit must be given to leaders and members of the party for being able to manage the process and elect a new leadership for the party.

“Whether in the end, the new leaders will be allowed by the power blocs within the PDP to facilitate negotiations, is completely a different matter.

“By the way, the fact that the party can elect a young person, below 30 years as National Youth Leader means that PDP leaders have recognised that the old culture of arrogance and impunity must be avoided if they are to win the support of Nigerians, which is very positive.

“It can be predicted that had PDP been the ruling party in the country, the approach would have been different. Probably, as was the case with all previous PDP leaders, new leaders would have emerged without any negotiation and the National Convention would have been reduced to window dressing ritual, legitimising the instructions of a serving PDP President.

“Perhaps, everything leading to the PDP National Convention happened because there is no serving PDP President acting as the leader of the party.

“Good enough, being out of power, PDP leaders had to respect democratic process, which raises the hope of especially PDP members that the party is being reformed.“

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