Okezie Ikpeazu, the immediate past Governor of Abia State, has opined that inclusiveness and strict adherence to the constitution of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will be needed to avoid divisions within the party, news.ng reports.
Ikpeazu, who made the call while speaking to journalists at the kick-off of the PDP’s national convention on Sunday in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, urged that no stakeholder in the party be left out of the process.
“So, if you are legally vulnerable, you have not concluded congresses in various states, and we said everybody must be included. First of all, go do these congresses so that all of us, you can see what has happened here. All the states are represented, all the congresses are being conducted,” he said.
Ikpeazu, who is the chairman of the convention committee, made it clear that his input was not on an administrative basis but due to his level of experience as a leader of the party for close to a decade.
According to the former governor, there is a need for the party to begin aggressive dialogue to liberate itself from its crisis, and that can happen through fairness.
“That is not my remit. My remit is to organise… I’m talking to you as the leader of the party, not in terms of the preparation for this convention. I thought I came here as the chairman of the convention committee. I’m talking to you as the man who was the PDP governor for two terms. So you know so much about the party.
“You see, we think that the doors are open wide enough for this conversation to go on. As far as I’m concerned, it doesn’t matter where I belong. Assuming I was sitting on the other side of the aisle. If I’m sure that you, Shewu, will keep to your words, what I’ll come to the table with is, please, don’t disenfranchise my people. Give us fair opportunity. Give us a fair chance,” he said.
He, therefore, urged leaders of the party to prioritise the interests of the party rather than selfish interests.
“If I trust you to do what you have promised to do, I mean, at some point, if compromises are not made, we will be thinking about ourselves and not thinking about our children. What happens to the PDP as a platform?”
When asked if key leaders of the party, including the former President Goodluck Jonathan, Seyi Makinde, the Oyo State Governor, and others would attend, he responded, saying, “As I speak, I’m not going to mention names, but you’ll be shocked at the characters and the leaders that you will see in this convention today,” he revealed, while declining to confirm the presence of notable figures, including Goodluck Jonathan.
“Even if these leaders don’t come today, take it that the door for reconciliation is still open. And the promise we want to make here today is that whatever their interests may be, provided it is not inimical to our desire to build a fair, equitable party.”
