2019: Kwara PDP adopts retail politics, inaugurates 25 committees

A head of regaining power in 2019 general elections, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), in Kwara State, has inaugurated 25 system committees saddled with various responsibilities to make the party stronger.

Akogun Iyiola Oyedepo, the Kwara State PDP Chairman, speaking at the inauguration on Friday said the party was no longer interested in wholesale politics, but retail politics.

“We are therefore moving away from the traditional perception of politics of worshipping personalities rather than the institution of the party under which platform ambitions can be ventilated.

According to him, the significance of the inauguration is to envision members about new focus and agenda of rebranded PDP.

“If we do not harness and cultivate the use of men and women of substance, knowledge, wisdom and integrity, developments in our party will not only be stagnant, we even run the risk and danger of total failure.

“We have therefore with the belief of using abundant talents in our midst, decided to break ourselves into different relevant committees where members can seriously work to uplift our party,” he said.

Oyedepo, in his speech delivered at the inaugural ceremony, held at the State Party Secretariat, Asa Dam, Ilorin, posited that his vision of what PDP in Kwara State should be, can only be achieved if people share the vision and run with it.

The Chairman, who urged all members to be up and doing said: “We are moving towards 2019 which is a year of destiny for people of Kwara State. In a situation like this, all hands must be on deck.

“Wonders cannot be done alone, especially in an organisation like political party; vision has no meaning if it has no adherents that tenaciously believe in it.”

Speaking further on retail politics, Oyedepo noted that “the whole idea behind breaking members into many committees for some assignments is the true meaning of retail politics, to allow our members to be on the field and canvass for our party.

“Our party is no more interested in politics of State or National headquarters. When we break big assignments into small bits, where you do your bit, to be joined with small bits done by others; we retail the politics.

“When we believe that power should be built from the bottom up and make local government or Ward level to be true power base; it is retail politics.

“When we build a formidable structure of the party, we are establishing a party that can win elections.

“It is better to build a party as an institution than to build personality that we shall turn to political idols.

“Person will die; institution, if well-grounded shall outlive the founders. That is our aspiration for PDP Kwara.”

Oyedepo reminded members that the party National Chairman, Uche Secondus, repeatedly said that powers have been decentralized to Zones, States, Senatorial Districts, Local Government and Wards.

“We should know that with the new crop of National leadership of our party, the era of impunity is over.

“Our agenda is to follow that of the National leader that intends torebuild, reposition the party and regain power in 2019.

“We can only build the structure of the party through sacrifice of our talent, energy, knowledge, financial resources and other necessary things,” he said.

The committees include; Planning, Strategy and Research, Mobilization, Media and publicity, Election and Electoral matters, Security, Disciplinary, Diaspora, Welfare, Legal among others.

After swearing -in of the committee members, Oyedepo charged them to be upright as their party philosophy is about being members that you are ready to be party workers through positive engagement in doing something worthwhile for the party.