Alex Ekwueme ‘Weeps’ For PDP, Says Party Shot Itself In The Leg
Dr. Alex Ekwueme, Ex-Vice President of Nigeria[/caption]
Former Vice President, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, said the present state of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) brings him to tears as the party has strayed from its original philosophy.
Ekwueme, who is also a founding member of the PDP, said this while receiving members of the Strategy Review and Inter Party Affairs Committee of the party in Enugu State on Wednesday.
According to him the PDP was founded to be a “mass movement for all Nigerians” like the African National Congress (ANC) in South Africa, but was hijacked by some individuals who have turned the party into their “personal estate”.
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Ekwueme said: “The story of PDP is one that sometimes makes me try to weep each time I remember the party because the founding fathers said that we are going to be in charge for 50 years or more. The idea of the PDP is not just an ordinary party but a mass movement for all Nigerians, just the like the ANC.
“We found it difficult to manage the party as a mass movement; unfortunately, some people who did not know how the party was formed, turned it into a personal estate.
“They wanted to use my state, Anambra, to do re-registration, to exclude some people who did not agree with them. Others (political parties) were attracting new members, they were driving away members. The party (PDP) lacked internal democracy.
“Yar’Adua came and called me and others. We went round and brought back aggrieved members. Yar’Adua died and we didn’t conclude that assignment.
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“I am happy that out of the debacle of 2015, there is need for introspection to find out where we went wrong and how to right the wrongs.”
Also, a member of the team, High Chief Raymond Dokpesi apologized to Nigerians for the party failures, declaring that the PDP is now “a born again party” ready to take over power from the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) in 2019.
