The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr Iyorchia Ayu, has called on the citizens to use their permanent voters’ cards (PVCs) to reject and end the alleged maladministration of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) during the 2023 general election.
Ayu who lamented that the APC government has failed to live up to expectations across the major sectors of the economy noted that the presidential candidate of the PDP, Atiku Abubakar and his running mate, Ifeanyi Okowa, are well equipped to provide needed solutions to the myriad of challenges confronting the nation.
He explained that the dwindling economy, rising insecurity and the continued strike action of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) are enough reasons for the people to vote out the APC and its candidates in the 2023 elections.
The former senate president stated this while speaking in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti state capital on Wednesday while receiving thousands of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) members under the auspices of ‘Ekiti Progressives’ who left the party in the build-up to the June 18 governorship election in the state.
Represented by the national deputy chairman (South), Taofeek Arapaja, the chairman expressed regret over the outcome of the last governorship election, adding that the party’s national leadership accepted responsibility over the party’s failure and apologised to the aggrieved members.
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While welcoming the new members to the party, the party chairman advised them to be committed to delivering the state for the PDP and its candidates in the next year’s election, urging them to commence massive mobilization for the party in their respective polling units and wards.
He said: “I am happy to welcome you back to the party because we can’t do it alone in a bid to rescue this nation from the APC that has destroyed this country across sectors. We need to change this APC through our PVCs, we should them out, you can do it.
“Let me say that Ekiti belongs to PDP and we should go out massively to mobilise for our candidate and his running mate to rescue us from the problems we are facing under the APC. I want to make it clear that what happened during the June 18 poll was caused by us, we must admit that it is our fault not your fault and we are asking for forgiveness, please forgive us, it won’t happen again.
“It is obvious that you have shown your strength in SDP by coming second in that election and we know had it been we worked together, it would have been a different story today. I want to plead we work together to deliver our candidates in 2023 and we return to the Villa.”
Speaking, the duo of the senator representing Ekiti South Senatorial District, Biodun Olujimi, and House of Representatives candidate for Ekiti South Federal Constituency One, Henrich Akomolafe, said the party had learned lessons from the past, calling on the returnees to commence mobilisation from their communities towards delivering all the PDP candidates in 2023 elections.
Olujimi while addressing the ex-SDP devotees, said the abysmal performance of the party in the last governorship election showed that something was wrong with the PDP.
“We should all share the blame. Some of us didn’t do what we were supposed to do. Some of us over-reacted, some were singing Hosanna and when should have done the right thing. They left us and they showed us that without them, we are nothing.
“They scored 82,000 votes that were supposed to be for the PDP in that election. But there is no pride in rebellion. They have come back to rejoin PDP. We believe that only Atiku/Okowa are the people with the capability to bring food to our table, solve insecurity problems, bring back our children to school.
“They have done it before. Let me tell the other party that whether they like it or not, we have come to reclaim Ekiti, we are winning in 2023 for Atiku. We must learn how to do things right.
“Let our leaders continue to do things according to the constitution. Help us appeal to our national leaders to reposition PDP so that we can return to our winning streak.”
The coordinator of the returnees, Wale Ayeni, said they were treated like strangers during the PDP governorship primary, this he said forced them out of the party to join the SDP.
“I pray that the PDP doesn’t repeat such in the future contest. PDP was enmeshed in crisis in Ekiti because the Abuja people caused the division. The PDP is supposed to be a strong party, but our members made it so. In 2023, Nigerians shouldn’t vote for whoever claims that he would sustain the legacy of President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2023 presidential poll,” he said.
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