As the 2023 general elections draw near, the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has to get it right by fielding genuine party men and women for the various elective offices.
The space will be quite good for the opposition party if it does the needful by ensuring that those to fly the party’s flag are committed genuine party men and women, who hold the party in high esteem as well as believe in the manifesto of the party.
The PDP should as a matter of urgency make it mandatory for any person contesting for any elective office to sign a letter of commitment. It will go a long way in maximising the stay of people elected under the platform of the party without defecting to another political party.
It is imperative for the party to be focused so that those to be elected are genuine party men and women in the states and the nation as a whole.
The party should not disassemble or modify the process of picking up its candidates for elective offices and expose itself to unwanted rigmarole which can easily lead to its failure right at the party level. A lot has gone wrong in the past seven years of the stewardship of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the country. They include the escalation of the Boko Haram insurgency, kidnapping, and banditry especially in the North-west.
The presidential candidate of the PDP should be an all rounder, who knows the nitty-gritty of the polity politically and one who sees the entire country as his constituency. He should also be conversant with the entire country as well as a blender of the diverse ethnic nationalities of the country called Nigeria.
The unity of the PDP and how to win the next presidential election is more important to the party and its members at this point after being out of office in the past seven years now. The party will give the ruling party APC a run for its money, if it puts everything in order this time around.
This is because the ruling party has failed in almost all ramifications – security, unemployment and above all, the high cost of living which the people of the country are bearing the brunt.
The PDP should be decisive and firm in fielding candidates for the various elective offices, so as to avoid giving the tickets for the different political offices to those who may later after getting into the offices defect to another party. We have witnessed recently about two state governors with some legislators defected from the PDP to the APC in Ebonyi and Cross River states.
This will to a large extent curb the menace of defection by the elected officials from the party they used as platform to ascend the mantle of leadership to another political party. The attitude of defecting to another political party by elected representatives has done more harm than good to Nigeria.
Therefore, it is imperative for the PDP to uphold the virtues of giving the ticket of the party to real and genuine party men and women. Those who believe in the philosophy and idealogy of the party are the ones to be considered. Anything short of this will ultimately spell doom for the party that is prepared to retake the reign of governance
The PDP has an obligation to fortify the unity of the party and improve its electoral fortunes in 2023. The present administration has failed to address and find lasting solution to the myraid problems confronting the country.
The PDP, as an opposition party, must take whatever measure is needed to defeat the ruling party in 2023 general elections. It should be taken as a challenge for the party to recognise the necessity for unity to exist and team work in all its endeavours to rediscover its winning ways especially on the person who will fly the flag of the party.
Usman Garba Santuraki
No 2, Santuraki Close,
Demsawo, Jimeta, Yola,
Adamawa state
08032333546
[email protected]
