PDP on a self-destructive path ― Former National Lawmaker, Bitrus Kaze

A former federal lawmaker and one of the founding members of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Hon. Bitrus Kaze has warned that the crisis rocking the PDP might frustrate the party from winning the 2023 presidential election, saying the unhealthy development has set it on the path of self-destruction.

Speaking with the Sunday Tribune, the former federal lawmaker said the crisis in the party is self-inflicted and has a wide range of implications, especially on the chances of PDP winning the 2023 presidential election.

According to him, the People’s Democratic Party is reaping the fruit of injustice and non-adherence to the principle of zoning as enshrined in the party constitution, adding that it is extremely wrong for the party from the onset to have declared the presidential ticket of the party open to all sections of the country.

Kaze pointed out that a cursory look at the crisis shows that it is not just an altercation between Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State and the presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, adding that it has polarised the party in the North and South.

“PDP at the moment is at a crossroads as a result of injustice and lack of fairness. I am not surprised by the crisis because the party has since derailed. The very moment Dr Iyorcha Ayu emerged as the National Chairman of the party, the presidential ticket ought to have been zoned to the southern part of the country in line with the party constitution, but it was circumvented for some obvious reasons.

“Since 1999, there is no time that the PDP has zoned both its presidential and national chairmanship to the same geopolitical zone. The moment they schemed out Secondus, the presidential ticket ought to have gone to the south, but the reverse was the case.”

The resignation of the Chairman Board of Trustees Senator Wali Jibril and the Chairman PDP Governors Forum, according to the former federal lawmaker, was a smoke screen and face mending.

He said: “Both the BOT chairman and the chairman of the Governors Forum were part of the reason why the PDP was unable to zone its presidential ticket to the south. They have done incalculable damage to the PDP. So the resignation is a child’s play, face mending, window dressing and inconsequential.

“The resignation of the BOT chairman and the PDP Governors Forum has not changed anything. The party would have convened an emergency national convention, but it is rather too late. The PDP has lost its goodwill, especially at the presidential level. The party is facing a problem presently because of injustice.

“I don’t see the PDP correcting this before the election, so the chance of the PDP winning the 2023 presidential election is in jeopardy except through divine intervention. As for me, as long as they stick to the Northern candidate I will vote for Obi”.

He advised Governor Wike to pursue national agenda, an agenda that carries respect for all of Nigeria and that commands national unity and respect from all Nigerians.

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