PDP must unite, speak with one voice ahead of 2027 — Party chieftains
Chieftains of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State on Thursday said that the former ruling party must unite and speak with one voice ahead of 2027 general elections.
The party leaders spokes at a stakeholders’ meeting organised by a group of technocrats called, the Diadem and PDP in Ifako/Ijaiye LGA to celebrate Nigeria at 64th.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event, tagged “Nigeria at 64 and Launching of 100,000 Ideological Organic Members Within the LGA” was themed “Ideological Democracy as Against Palliative & Deceptive Politics.”
The Convener and Aviation expert, Dr Dayo Kayode, said that if the members and leader of the party could jettison personal interest, peace and fortune would return to the party.
Kayode said that event, which brought together party leaders and loyalists across various electoral wards in the council and some state leaders, was to celebrate Nigeria 64th Independence and mobilise strong membership for the party.
He said that no political party had for once celebrated Nigeria independence since 1960, saying the PDP in Ifako-Ijaiye LGA was the first.
Nothing that Nigerians were still in search of freedom 64 years after independence, Kayode said that Nigerians had been calling for the return of the PDP into power.
According to him, no party can get the people into the Promised land than the PDP.
“We are sending a message to our leaders and our elders that we stand solid behind them. Here we are in Ifako/Ijaiye, we are ready whenever our leaders are ready.
“We must unite, we must speak with one voice as we approach 2027, ” the Convener said.
He said that difference in politics were normal but party interest should be supreme.
Describing Nigerian challenges as systemic, the scholar said that only strong institutions could change the tides in the nation.
According to him, the group has put machinery in motion to register 100,000 organic members across across various electoral wards in the council to boost the chances of PDP in the next election.
He said that the group has come up with about 10 groups having not less than 150 members to “win strong people” into the party.
“We are not going to relent on our effort. We are going to be highly resilient and tenacious about it, not until when that goal is achieved. There is no going back,” he said.
Tbe keynote speaker, Dr Bolaji Akinyemi,said that if the nation would be built, there was the need to understand how to go about it.
Dramatising the theme by reading out a satirical play, Akinyemi said that issues affecting the country included corruption, bad leadership, electoral corruption, ineptitudes amongst others.
According to him, the basic problem of the Nigerian society is that majority are unable to process information, design happenings and interrogate events as they unfold.
According to him, there is the need to increase the demography of intelligent voters by the next election to change the current situation.
Describing Nigerian challenges as foundational, Akinyemi called for a people’s constitution that would give direction as to the dream of its founding fathers.
According to him, since it could be too expensive to convey a new national conference at this moment, Nigeria should revert to the 1963 Republican Constitution to move forward
“That is the only constitution ever agreed upon in this country that has the label we the people. Because the representative of the people in Lagos actually decided this is the shape Nigeria should take.
“I want to believe that what we need to do is go back to that constitution, dust it off because it was just overtaken, not annulled,” Akinyemi said.
He urged President Bola Tinubu to consider technocrats instead of politicians to bring Nigeria out of the current socio-economic challenges, saying Nigeria’s situation required competence and expertise .
The PDP Chairman in Ifako/Ijaiye LGA, Prince Muftau Oyelekan and his counterpart from Alimosho Alhaji Isiaka Shodiya urged Nigerians to give the party a chance in 2027.
Oyelekan, who noted that there was hope for the party in 2027, said that PDP’s footprints were visible in Oyo, Ondo, Osun, Kwara and other states
Also speaking, Shodiya, who commended the Ifako/Ijaiye PDP for the event, said it would be great if the party could get 100,000 organic members ahead of 2027.
“Politics, in Nigeria of today, has been monetised by some politicians, we need to get the people that want to vote based on their conscience,” Shodiya said.
The Alimosho PDP chieftain vowed to replicate and embark on same project in his council area.
