The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says it regrets presenting former president, Goodluck Jonathan, as its sole candidate in the 2015 election.
Addressing journalists at a media parley in Abuja on Tuesday, Raymond Dokpesi, chairman of the party’s rebranding conference, said PDP ought to have stuck to its zoning arrangement.
The arrangement would have led to the emergence of a candidate from the north but Dokpesi said the former ruling party was aware of the “errors” and was making efforts to make amends.
“In 2010 and 2011, the party made the first round of mistake of not allowing the north to complete its term,” he said.
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“That was when the party gave a special favour to the then president to complete the term of Yar’Adua. The same party came forward in 2015 and refused to return the party to allow the north to field the party’s presidential candidate.
“Zoning principles of the party were abandoned and a whole lot of other issues. The PDP is aware that there were errors made along the way. There was no internal democracy, there was impunity within the party and there was no level playing ground.
“The PDP is aware of these errors that were made along the way. We admit that at certain times in our past, mistakes have been made and that is why we are going to have Adamu Ciroma, Alex Ekwueme and some of the founding fathers who were hitherto alienated from the party at the conference. They will talk to us on charting the way forward.”
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Dokpesi also appealed to Nigerians, saying: “We admit that we made mistakes and we have not met the expectation of Nigerians. We apologise to people whose toes we’ve stepped upon. So far, whatever the PDP has done against anyone, we tender an unreserved apology.”
5 comments
medicine after death …………………….
Sounds noble to admit to mistakes but it’s hard to think which candidate from the north they would have presented that would have matched PMB; at a time when the yearning for change was loudest.
Dokpesi contributed hugely to the kleptocracy Jonathan instituted. They are saw that era as ‘their time’. They said Jojo was ‘their man’. South-south became a cause. For Dokpesi and his ilk, who were in politics just to ‘game the system’, Jojo and his dumbness had ‘luster’. The insultive, loud-mouthed wife was, to them, ‘just being motherly’.
Let them not insult us with belated apologies.
Medicine after death. This tongue-in-cheek apology will further alienae the PDP. How can they turn around full circle to speak ill of their president this way? Jonathan still has strong supporters who are sure to find this new revelation despicable. Jonathan himself who the party still needs his supports so badly to come ashore, would now find out that support is gone for ever. The support would be shifted to the APC.
A party of bandits now wants to jettison banditry. Good luck to them. If I were Ekwueme and Ciroma, I would not attend this tainted gathering. Both men have reached advanced ages and should quit partisan politics for good, like OBJ and IBB have finally done. Elder statementship beckons and they should heed the call.