For the second time in a year, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has turned down moves by its top leaders to change of its name. Rising from its 88th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Abuja, yesterday, the party told those canvassing for the change of its name to forget the idea because the brand remains the best in Nigeria’s political firmament.
In the build-up to the 2019 general elections, the PDP had rebuffed similar moves by some politicians to change its name as part of the conditions for their return to party. The party argued then that the time was too short for it to undertake the exercise.
The latest attempt, which also failed yesterday, was championed by former presidential spokesman, Dr Doyin Okupe.
Okupe was quoted as saying that ‘‘you know that the APC controls 21 states while the PDP controls 15 out of the 36 states in the country. The PDP in its present state and form cannot win comfortably the presidential election in 2023.
‘‘To defeat the APC in 2023, I want the PDP leaders to think of changing the name of the party. They must also make the party itself the arrowhead of a national movement to oust the present administration. We should not forget that this is exactly what the component factions of the APC did in 2014,” he said.
But, while reading the party’s communique after the NEC meeting, the PDP national publicity secretary, Kola Ologbodinyan, said that “the party insists that the PDP brand is still the best in the political firmament of our nation and as such, those canvassing for the change of name for our party should forget it because we remain the Peoples Democratic Party.”
Ologbodinyan stated that the party also resolved to constitute a committee to probe what transpired during the 2019 general elections in order to help in its agitation for electoral reforms.
The party, therefore, mandated its senators and members of the House of Representatives to immediately begin the push for the amendment of all electoral laws in such a way that will engender free, fair and credible electoral process in the country.
He said: “A committee has been constituted for the review of 2019 general elections and what transpired in other to be able to help in the agitation for electoral reforms.”
The PDP spokesman explained that the National Working Committee (NWC) was working with the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT) and other organs, adding that they have been asked to nominate members.
Ologbodinyan further said that “the party also expressed concerns about landmines created by the APC to turn our country into a one party state. Our party also says that no democracy can thrive in a situation where the legislative arm and the judiciary are caged. Our party believes that there are signs of dictatorship in our nation today and as such, our members in the National Assembly were further charged to ensure that they use their legislative instruments to ensure that our country is not reduced to a dictatorship.”
The party also resolved that in line with its guidelines, “in all electoral offices whether party offices or electoral offices, that in line with our gender sensitive nature, women should have at least 35 per cent of offices that will be contested for.”
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