Okupe: PDP must reform now or it will die

Doyin Okupe, former senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, has warned leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that the party must urgently reform itself or it will suffer “a painful and insidious death”.

In a message posted on his Facebook wall on Thursday, Okupe expressed happiness that the party was embarking on a membership recruitment drive, but he argued that the party had more pressing needs.

“It was a great news to hear the formation of a body to drive the mobilisation of members of the PDP under the distinguished leadership of High Chief Dokpesi,” he said.

“I personally felt good that at last some people were thinking of the future of the party. However, I sincerely do not think mobilisation is the immediate thing the PDP needs now.

“The party has suffered very serious bashing if not bastadisation from the sustained avalanche of assaults from the gigantic propaganda machinery of the now ruling party the APC. The credibility of the party as a veritable political alternative to the APC has been nearly irreparably damaged.

“Some of the recent disclosures and more that may come up from the impending probes will further damage the national acceptability of the party. At the end of the day the APC may not meet up the expectations of Nigerians or may in fact fail out rightly over time but the PDP, as it is presently constituted, will not be an acceptable alternative to majority of Nigerians now or in future.”

Okupe described APC and PDP as “two sides of the same coin” lacking a clear philosophy.

“No ideology or central motivating theme. No clear policy objectives. No true leadership. No defining party character or style. Only contestants, aspirants and office seekers. No party discipline, pedigree or ethics,” he said.

“The truth is that some people put together a strong coalition to wrestle power from the military. That coalition gave birth to PDP, which held the power for 16 years until some other people put up another coalition for the sole purpose of wrestling power from PDP. This they successfully did in march 2015.

“The time has come for the PDP, if it must remain politically relevant, to total overhaul and REFORM itself, engage Nigerians in a new coalition for the sole purpose of putting our dear country on the true path to the true, real and the enduring change that will once and for all establish us as a major global player. Not pretenders that we presently are.

“The PDP must reform lest it dies, God forbids, a painful and insidious death.”