Former Deputy National Chairman (south) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bode George, has said longsuffering Nigerians are waiting for the opposition party to kick the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) out of power in 2027.
According to NAN, George spoke in Lagos on Thursday at a press conference organised to mark his 79th birthday.
Despite the optimism, the PDP chieftain admitted that all is not well within the former ruling party because of selfish interests.
He noted that members and leaders must use the forthcoming national convention to rescue the party.
“As a loyal party man who lives, thinks, talks, breathes, and defends the PDP, I have never left this party since it was formed, so today gives me a great opportunity to deliberate on the future of our party,” George said.
“Even as elders of the party are preparing to meet on November 28 in Abuja to chart the way forward, I owe it a duty to declare openly that all is not well with our party. In fact, our party is derailing.
“This is unfortunate because the crisis in our party has further complicated the present tragedy in the socio-economic indices of our dear nation.
“I am raising the alarm today that our party is at the precipice of a dangerous looming crisis if pending critical party issues are not urgently addressed.”
The PDP chieftain said some “desperados” are undermining the party’s leadership efforts to foster a sense of belonging among members.
He said the PDP’s founding fathers would be heartbroken to see the party’s decline into “a shadow of itself” due to the selfish interests of some of its members.
He described the situation as “disheartening and pitiable”, alleging that some pretentious members are already working with the APC ahead of the 2027 elections.
“They have one leg in PDP and another leg in APC. Such chameleonic characters are the ones trying to dictate the direction of this party,” George said.
“In the name of everything that is dear to our great party, this pretension must be stopped immediately by patriotic members of this party.
“Since the first elective convention of our party in 1999, when PDP was handed over to some of us as national officers, we have never had it this bad.
“If the PDP must rescue Nigerians from the vicious grip of APC in 2027, this must be a major agenda during our NEC meeting in Abuja.”
The PDP chieftain stressed that the party must capitalise on the opportunity to progress Nigeria while condemning “disloyalty” as a grave offence.
“Unless we are united, with equity, fairness, and justice being the pedestal for any political decision taken, this party will be heading to disaster in 2027,” he said.
“If we want to win the 2027 presidential election, we should not allow ourselves to be divided, and those with divisive tendencies should be told in clear language that ‘enough is enough’.
“We must change the narratives now so that we don’t embark on a suicide mission, a self-destructive journey for our party in 2027.
“With the suffering in the land and the mismanagement of the economy, Nigerians are waiting for us in 2027 to kick APC out of Aso Rock.”
