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PDP’s failure to learn from past blunders

SIR: The Anambra State Gubernatorial election of November 18, 2017 may have come and gone but the sad memories still linger. It is no longer news that Governor Willie Obiano won the election comfortably in all 21 local government areas in Anambra State including the local government area of the candidate of the PDP Oseloka…

PDP

SIR: The Anambra State Gubernatorial election of November 18, 2017 may have come and gone but the sad memories still linger. It is no longer news that Governor Willie Obiano won the election comfortably in all 21 local government areas in Anambra State including the local government area of the candidate of the PDP Oseloka Obaze and the local government area of ex-Governor Peter Obi, Obaze’s Godfather.

One major factor in the resounding defeat of the PDP was the internal wrangling within the party following the disputed outcome of the party’s governorship primary.

Those who felt that they lost the primary to intrigues and manipulations by powerful party members were not listened to. Rather, they were characterised as sore losers.

The PDP bigwigs and kingmakers boasted that they would route the governance of the APGA and Obiano in Anambra State. Aspirants of the party felt aggrieved. They complained but the party claimed they were irrelevant. What followed was a gale of suspensions and threats of expulsions.

They refused to work for the party’s candidate, Obaze. They played the spoilers roles during the election. PDP lost.

In the 2015 general elections, many PDP bigwigs and political gladiators worked against the PDP’s candidates because of perceived injustice and unfair treatment by the party in the primaries for various elective offices. Genuine grievances were not properly handled by the leadership of the party. PDP lost the elections to PDP members who worked against the party.

Then came Modu Sheriff. The party suffered over 14 months of crisis until the Supreme Court came to the rescue.

PDP was at a crossroads. Many members contemplated abandoning the party if the Supreme Court ruling favoured Modu Sheriff. A new political party APDA was even floated in case.

In order to regenerate, the PDP leadership constituted various committees especially the Ike Ekweremadu 17-man committee and the Jerry Gana 205-man committee to restructure, reorganise and reposition the party to face the challenges of the future.

From the findings, two casual factors, impunity and indiscipline were responsible for the degeneration of the party. Way forward? Instill party discipline, enforce party supremacy and stop impunity.

Have we learnt any lessons? I am afraid, the signs are not too good. Like a recurring decimal, party members are grumbling. They are crying hidden agenda. They are crying manipulation. They are crying impunity.

Yet the leadership of the party is discountenancing them as rantings of ants. From all indications, we have not learnt any lessons from PDP’s inglorious past.
Nigeria is watching!

Abba Moro, a member of PDP is the immediate past Minister of Interior.

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