The Bukola Saraki-led National Reconciliation and Strategy Committee (NRSC) of the PDP has submitted its report to the leadership of the party, warning that the main opposition party must be wary of the type of persons sent to conduct its primaries not to cause more acrimony in the run up to the 2023 elections.
The former Senate President submitted the report to the PDP National Chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, during a short ceremony at the national secretariat of the party on Wednesday, recommending the need for the party to set up a standing Strategy Committee that could be utilised for the 2023 polls.
The committee chairman observed that the conduct of primaries had ways been the source of quarrels in the party and therefore urged the leadership to be transparent in the exercise.
Addressing the PDP National Chairman, Saraki stated: “Mr Chairman, we need to point out that while so much has been done there is still so much to do. Our party has recently commenced the journey towards electing candidates to contest on the party’s platform in the 2023 general elections at the presidential, gubernatorial, national assembly, and state houses of assembly levels.
“We have discovered that the conduct of primaries to elect candidates to represent the party has been a source of great intra-party conflict and friction in the past, resulting in the PDP being severely weakened and hampering its chances of success in previous elections.
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“Mr. Chairman, we believe that you and other members of the National Working Committee (NWC) are men and women of great courage and integrity who have displayed a commitment to our great party, its ideals, and values.
“We want to advise that the party leadership should at all times adhere to the principles of equity, justice, fairness, good conscience, and inclusiveness. The leadership should always be transparent in taking decisions such that those not favoured by the decision can at least see that they have been given a fair hearing and those whose cases prevail can see that they won on merit, therefore having to be magnanimous in victory.
“We urge you, Mr Chairman, and other members of the NWC to ensure a thorough and extensive scrutiny process in the selection of the people who will be sent to go and conduct the primary elections in the various states as we prepare for the 2023 elections.
“They must be people who will be fair to all and adhere strictly to democratic tenets. Sanctions should be meted out to those of them who by their actions create a crisis in any state.
“Also, we need to mention that time did not allow us to dwell much on the area of strategy. We had so much to do in the area of reconciliation. It is therefore our recommendation that the party leadership should explore the idea of setting up a standing committee to advise it from time to time on the issue of strategy, particularly as we prepare for the 2023 general elections.”
On the strategy side, Saraki disclosed that it was the committee that recommended to the last National Working Committee (NWC) the need to slash the nomination and expression of interest fees payable by youths who are aspiring to various public offices in other to encourage members in that demographic to seek elective offices on the platform of the party.
He said the committee’s message was well-received across the country and formed the foundation for the resolution of drawn-out crises between rival groups and the reconciliation of discontented stakeholders.
Saraki further said: “We are pleased to report that our committee was able to work with stakeholders in several state chapters like Borno, Ogun, Ondo, Niger, and Plateau to resolve the crisis that had plagued the party for years. In other states like Cross Rivers and Yobe, we have been able to work with stakeholders to rebuild the firm foundation of our party after some members defected. And in some states, while we may not have been able to completely resolve the crises, we have been able to get contending factions to engage in dialogue and set them on a sure path to genuine reconciliation.
“In the course of our activities, we also met with critical stakeholders and organs of our party and listened to their grievances. We received their suggestions on how best to remodel and reposition our party as the best vehicle for the delivery of sustainable development and good governance to Nigerians.”
He added that the report contains a detailed breakdown of the committee’s deliberations with the key stakeholders, members, and organs of the party; the issues that were raised, and recommendations to ensure that these issues are conclusively resolved to the benefit of the party.
Saraki recalled that the NRSC was established in 2020 against the backdrop of the poor state of our party as demonstrated by the intra-party conflict in many state chapters, disillusionment with the party by many members and by the Nigerian populace, and the inability to attract new members, and the loss of key stakeholders. Our party was described in the media as ‘haemorrhaging,’ at the time.”
While receiving the report, Ayu thanked the members of the committee for the work they did, noting that where state chapters have crises, it would be hard to run a successful election.
According to him, the leadership had been implementing some of the recommendations because it had anticipated them, saying that the NWC would go through the report and pass it on to the National Executive Committee (NEC) for implementation.
He affirmed that the PDP is poised to rescue Nigeria at a time that bandits in their hundreds are raiding and taking over communities unchallenged.
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