As the leadership crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party festers, former chairmen of the party in the 774 local government areas in the country have begun moves to meet and take a decision on the crisis.  The meeting according to one of the conveners and former Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in Rivers State, Barrister Mela Oforibika, will involve all the PDP local government chairmen who held sway from 1999 to 2014.

Asked to explain the purpose of the meeting, Oforibika simply said that the chairmen would be meeting to explore ways and means of intervening in the current PDP impasse. According to the former Commissioner, the meeting had become imperative so as to push for early preparations for the 2019 elections instead of dissipating energy on divided loyalty. “We need to begin to build the structures that will give us victory in the next election instead of wasting time to promote individual interest,” Oforibika said.

“The Nigerian people in these hard times need a viable and strong opposition to reposition the country for fast-paced economic development and the PDP cannot perform this role in its current state of disarray. That is why we are embarking on wide-ranging consultations across the country with the grassroots party men and women who had worked for the PDP and Nigeria between 1999 and 2014 with a view to salvaging the party from its current crisis. While we do not want to take side with any of the two factions struggling for recognition, we want to ensure the strengthening of the PDP so as to make it regain its prime position in Nigeria’s political space,” the convener said.

Vanguard