ADDRESS BY THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND CHAIRMAN OF THE PDP
POST-ELECTION REVIEW COMMITTEE, HIS EXCELLENCY, SENATOR IKE EKWEREMADU,
CFR, ON THE OCCASION OF THE SUBMISSION OF THE COMMITTEE’S REPORT AT THE
PDP NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS, WADATA PLAZA, WUSE ZONE 5, ABUJA, SEPTEMBER
30, 2015
PROTOCOL
The National Working Committee, on behalf of our great Party, the
Peoples Democratic Party, inaugurated the PDP Post-Election Review
Committee on May 5, 2015 in the wake of the Party’s poor performance in
the last general elections. The Committee was handed a nine-point terms
of reference, the sum of which was to find out what went wrong and to
chart a trajectory for the restoration of the fortunes of the Party. I
am happy to inform you, our dear party leaders, that the team has
completed its assignment.
In carrying out this assignment, we not only received memoranda from PDP
members within and outside the country, but also held consultations in
the six geopolitical zones of the nation.
Our work looked at critical areas and issues such as Party structure and
administration, Party finance, legal framework, primary elections,
Party’s candidates, conflict resolution, campaign organisations,
campaign finance, Election Day activities, post-election management,
third Party groups/support groups, among others. We sought to find out
how each of these factors has impacted our electoral fortunes and the
Party’s general well being over the years, particularly in the last
general elections.
Dear Party leaders and fellow Party faithful, we understand that the
work of this Committee is just one of the several crucial steps towards
repositioning our great party. Nevertheless, I can say with every sense
of modesty, that we have given this task our best.
We have made extensive recommendations, the core of which is to end
impunity, uphold justice, entrench internal democracy, enhance Party
administration, promote transparency and accountability, and return the
Party to its true owners- the people- in accordance with our Party
slogan and founding principles.
To this end, we have, among many key recommendations, proposed a
nationwide biometric membership registration to align our party records
with modern technology and further boost the integrity of our membership
records as a precursor to other reforms we have recommended.
It is recommended that the Party should henceforth be self-funding,
relying on membership registrations and enforcement of dues and levies
as its primary sources of income at all levels in line with the PDP
Constitution. This is with a view to ending the prevailing situation
where those who pay the piper dictate the tune. We have also
recommended that the role of Party leader, which has no basis in the
constitution of the PDP, should henceforth be discontinued at all
levels. This is to strengthen the structure of the Party at all levels.
Furthermore, it is recommended that the Party adopt direct primary as
the sole means of electing PDP candidates for any election at all
levels. The use of delegates has been grossly compromised and abused,
and should therefore be discontinued forthwith to return true ownership
of the Party to the people.
It is also recommended to the party to strictly apply the zoning
principle at all levels. In particular, since the last President of PDP
extraction came from the southern part of Nigeria, it is recommended
that PDP’s presidential candidate in the 2019 general elections should
come from the northern part of the country. This is in accordance with
the popular views expressed in the submissions to the Committee. This
will also assuage any ill feelings in the North over any perceived
breach of the Party’s zoning principle.
In line with the recommendations, we have also drawn a roadmap towards
the 2019 general elections and future electoral success.
Meanwhile, permit me to add that serving on this Committee has been a
great experience for all of us. Therefore, let me on behalf of all
members of the Committee appreciate the leadership of our Party for not
only giving us the opportunity to serve, but also the conducive
environment to serve freely and independently. Likewise, we are grateful
to the International Republican Institute, IRI, for their technical
support to the Committee. We also appreciate their readiness to provide
further technical support in the implementation of the proposed roadmap.
However, our gratitude and sense of fulfillment can only be complete
when this report is implemented. This is not the first time our Party
has set up a Committee; and this is not the first time it will be
receiving a report of this magnitude. The problem, which is also one of
the cardinal reasons we found ourselves in this sad state, is that
virtually all the reports- great ideas, stringent efforts, and
sacrifices by our Party men and women- were never implemented, but
rather abandoned to gather dust.
Let me end this address by relaying to you the greetings and best wishes
of our Party members across the country and their faith in this renewed
quest to recreate our great Party. Despite the setbacks of the 2015
general elections, especially the loss of the control of the Federal
Government, we nevertheless saw across the nation determined Party
faithful profusely hopeful and enthusiastic about reinventing our Party
and returning it on the path of glory. This resilience is to me our
greatest asset in the push to rebuild and reposition the PDP.
Also, from the feedback we got in the course of this assignment, more
and more Nigerians are beginning to appreciate the PDP as the only truly
national party in Nigeria today with strong presence in every nook and
cranny of the nation. More people are now better aware of the immense
scope of freedom and inclusiveness, which we bequeathed. Never at any
time in our 16 years of leadership did any part of this great country
complain of total exclusion or brazen lopsidedness in appointments into
critical offices. The nation now better acknowledges the fact that only
the PDP can provide a sense of belonging to every part of Nigeria,
irrespective of their political choices. The APC must put the unity of
our country first. Our strength lies in our unity.
Dear party leaders and party faithful, the PDP lost the presidency and
conceded it to the opposition in a smooth transition, thereby setting a
standard that must not be reduced if democracy must grow. The onus is
therefore on every other party to respect the sanctity and supremacy of
the ballot box. The APC should know that it is the greatest beneficiary
of the electoral reforms and political freedom nurtured and bequeathed
by the PDP government. These gains must not be reversed.
Finally, millions of PDP members across the country and indeed the good
people of Nigeria are now better informed of the superiority of the PDP
in intentions and programmes. They want us to put our house in order
ahead of 2019. The time to begin is now.
SENATOR IKE EKWEREMADU, PhD, CFR
Deputy President of the Senate and
Chairman of PDP Post Election Review Committee
POST-ELECTION REVIEW COMMITTEE, HIS EXCELLENCY, SENATOR IKE EKWEREMADU,
CFR, ON THE OCCASION OF THE SUBMISSION OF THE COMMITTEE’S REPORT AT THE
PDP NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS, WADATA PLAZA, WUSE ZONE 5, ABUJA, SEPTEMBER
30, 2015
PROTOCOL
The National Working Committee, on behalf of our great Party, the
Peoples Democratic Party, inaugurated the PDP Post-Election Review
Committee on May 5, 2015 in the wake of the Party’s poor performance in
the last general elections. The Committee was handed a nine-point terms
of reference, the sum of which was to find out what went wrong and to
chart a trajectory for the restoration of the fortunes of the Party. I
am happy to inform you, our dear party leaders, that the team has
completed its assignment.
In carrying out this assignment, we not only received memoranda from PDP
members within and outside the country, but also held consultations in
the six geopolitical zones of the nation.
Our work looked at critical areas and issues such as Party structure and
administration, Party finance, legal framework, primary elections,
Party’s candidates, conflict resolution, campaign organisations,
campaign finance, Election Day activities, post-election management,
third Party groups/support groups, among others. We sought to find out
how each of these factors has impacted our electoral fortunes and the
Party’s general well being over the years, particularly in the last
general elections.
Dear Party leaders and fellow Party faithful, we understand that the
work of this Committee is just one of the several crucial steps towards
repositioning our great party. Nevertheless, I can say with every sense
of modesty, that we have given this task our best.
We have made extensive recommendations, the core of which is to end
impunity, uphold justice, entrench internal democracy, enhance Party
administration, promote transparency and accountability, and return the
Party to its true owners- the people- in accordance with our Party
slogan and founding principles.
To this end, we have, among many key recommendations, proposed a
nationwide biometric membership registration to align our party records
with modern technology and further boost the integrity of our membership
records as a precursor to other reforms we have recommended.
It is recommended that the Party should henceforth be self-funding,
relying on membership registrations and enforcement of dues and levies
as its primary sources of income at all levels in line with the PDP
Constitution. This is with a view to ending the prevailing situation
where those who pay the piper dictate the tune. We have also
recommended that the role of Party leader, which has no basis in the
constitution of the PDP, should henceforth be discontinued at all
levels. This is to strengthen the structure of the Party at all levels.
Furthermore, it is recommended that the Party adopt direct primary as
the sole means of electing PDP candidates for any election at all
levels. The use of delegates has been grossly compromised and abused,
and should therefore be discontinued forthwith to return true ownership
of the Party to the people.
It is also recommended to the party to strictly apply the zoning
principle at all levels. In particular, since the last President of PDP
extraction came from the southern part of Nigeria, it is recommended
that PDP’s presidential candidate in the 2019 general elections should
come from the northern part of the country. This is in accordance with
the popular views expressed in the submissions to the Committee. This
will also assuage any ill feelings in the North over any perceived
breach of the Party’s zoning principle.
In line with the recommendations, we have also drawn a roadmap towards
the 2019 general elections and future electoral success.
Meanwhile, permit me to add that serving on this Committee has been a
great experience for all of us. Therefore, let me on behalf of all
members of the Committee appreciate the leadership of our Party for not
only giving us the opportunity to serve, but also the conducive
environment to serve freely and independently. Likewise, we are grateful
to the International Republican Institute, IRI, for their technical
support to the Committee. We also appreciate their readiness to provide
further technical support in the implementation of the proposed roadmap.
However, our gratitude and sense of fulfillment can only be complete
when this report is implemented. This is not the first time our Party
has set up a Committee; and this is not the first time it will be
receiving a report of this magnitude. The problem, which is also one of
the cardinal reasons we found ourselves in this sad state, is that
virtually all the reports- great ideas, stringent efforts, and
sacrifices by our Party men and women- were never implemented, but
rather abandoned to gather dust.
Let me end this address by relaying to you the greetings and best wishes
of our Party members across the country and their faith in this renewed
quest to recreate our great Party. Despite the setbacks of the 2015
general elections, especially the loss of the control of the Federal
Government, we nevertheless saw across the nation determined Party
faithful profusely hopeful and enthusiastic about reinventing our Party
and returning it on the path of glory. This resilience is to me our
greatest asset in the push to rebuild and reposition the PDP.
Also, from the feedback we got in the course of this assignment, more
and more Nigerians are beginning to appreciate the PDP as the only truly
national party in Nigeria today with strong presence in every nook and
cranny of the nation. More people are now better aware of the immense
scope of freedom and inclusiveness, which we bequeathed. Never at any
time in our 16 years of leadership did any part of this great country
complain of total exclusion or brazen lopsidedness in appointments into
critical offices. The nation now better acknowledges the fact that only
the PDP can provide a sense of belonging to every part of Nigeria,
irrespective of their political choices. The APC must put the unity of
our country first. Our strength lies in our unity.
Dear party leaders and party faithful, the PDP lost the presidency and
conceded it to the opposition in a smooth transition, thereby setting a
standard that must not be reduced if democracy must grow. The onus is
therefore on every other party to respect the sanctity and supremacy of
the ballot box. The APC should know that it is the greatest beneficiary
of the electoral reforms and political freedom nurtured and bequeathed
by the PDP government. These gains must not be reversed.
Finally, millions of PDP members across the country and indeed the good
people of Nigeria are now better informed of the superiority of the PDP
in intentions and programmes. They want us to put our house in order
ahead of 2019. The time to begin is now.
SENATOR IKE EKWEREMADU, PhD, CFR
Deputy President of the Senate and
Chairman of PDP Post Election Review Committee
- The Deputy President of the Senate and Chairman of PDP Post-Election Review Committee, Sen. Ike Ekweremadu presenting the Committee's report to the Acting National Chairman of PDP, Prince Uche Secondus in Abuja on Wednesday .jpg
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