Ekwueme: The story of PDP sometimes makes me weep

Alex Ekwueme, a former vice-president, on Wednesday, said he “sometimes weeps” upon realisation that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had derailed from its original ideology.

Ekwueme said the PDP was founded to be a “mass movement for all Nigerians” but it was hijacked by “some people”, whom he says have turned the party into their personal estate.

The ex-VP was among the founding members of the party which controlled the federal government for 16 years.

While receiving members of the PDP strategy review committee in Enugu state, he cited the lack of internal democracy in the PDP as reason for the failure of the party in the last general election.

Ekwueme said: “The story of PDP is one that sometimes makes me try to weep each time I remember the party because the founding fathers said that we are going to be in charge for 50 years or more. The idea of the PDP is not just an ordinary party but a mass movement for all Nigerians, just the like the ANC.

“We found it difficult to manage the party as a mass movement; unfortunately, some people who did not know how the party was formed, turned it into a personal estate.

“They wanted to use my state, Anambra, to do re-registration, to exclude some people who did not agree with them. Others (political parties) were attracting new members, they were driving away members. The party (PDP) lacked internal democracy.

“Yar’Adua came and called me and others. We went round and brought back aggrieved members. Yar’Adua died and we didn’t conclude that assignment.

“I am happy that out of the debacle of 2015, there is need for introspection to find out where we went wrong and how to right the wrongs.”

The PDP strategy review committee has paid similar visits to former president Goodluck Jonathan and Bamanga Tukur, former national chairman of the party.