PDP will die if convention is not credible – Adedoja …Nenadi Usman expresses confidence of emerging party scribe

One of the aspirants to the office of the National chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prof. Taoheed Adedoja has said that the party will go into extinction if it fails to conduct a free, fair and credible convention, adding that if the South West does not produce the next chairman, then the party will have no stake in the zone.
Prof. Adedoja stated this in Abuja at the National headquarters of the party when he submitted his nomination form.
The aspirant who was not worried by the number of the aspirants from the South West and the inability of the candidates to go into consensus said that the beauty of democracy is for the people to elect their leaders in a healthy and transparent manner. He said that the fact that so many people are jostling for the same position shows that PDP is still a force to reckon with in the zone.
He said, “If the South West produces only one national aspirant, Nigerians should be worried about it. If we produce only two aspirants people will still shout only two, PDP is finished. Other zones know that it is the turn of the South West.
“If they do not produce the next chairman of the party, then South West will be porous, South West will be up for grabs. It has implications for the survival of the party.”
He said that all the zones have endorsed his candidature, adding that he will be a uniting factor not only to the party but also to the entire country.
He said, “What Nigeria needs at this time is somebody who will strengthen peace. My chairmanship will bring intellectualism to governance. It is about creativity. PDP cannot continue the way it has been going.
“The foundation of PDP and the nation lies in a successful Convention. If the convention is not credible, then there will be no PDP in 2019. A PDP strategy for the 2017 elections lies in their strategies for the PDP convention.
He sounded confident in the ability of Senator Ahmed Makarfi to conduct a credible election just as he denied knowledge of plans for a parallel convention.
“I have hope in the National Caretaker Committee headed by Senator Makarfi and we must give them chance to conduct free, fair and credible convention.
“I am not aware of any parallel convention. I am a party person and I am not in for any parallel convention.”
He said that lack of consensus does not imply splitting of votes or that candidates are in disarray.
“It is not a matter of splitting, it is a matter of sharing and by the grace of God, I will have the highest vote.”
Meanwhile, Senator Nenadi Esther Usman, an aspirant for office of the National Secretary said that she will reorganise the party’s Secretariat and use her experience to bring the PDP back to its winning ways.
She said that her litigations with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) will not affect her chances of being elected.
She said, “Organising the secretariat will not be a problem having been in the executive and in the Parliament”.
On her abilities, she said that she possess all the abilities for the job. “I don’t think people look at me as a woman. They look at my education, my character and my abilities. I see it as a family contest. After the contest, we shall all work together and put the party back to its winning ways.
“The first thing to get right is to see the contest as a brotherly, family contest and not overstretch anything.
“So long as there is a level playing ground, I believe people will work together,” Usman states.
On her plans to change the battered image of the party, she said, “I think people vote according to the amount of information made available to them. We are going to bring out to the people the facts and people will vote on the grounds of knowledge,” she said.
Also another aspirant for the office of Deputy National Woman Leader, Chief Mrs Oluremi Adiukwu said that the she is in the race so as to join hands with others to re-position the PDP.
“I want to run because the party needs experienced hands this time. For anything that can bring sanity to the party, I will sacrifice anything for it.”
She passed a vote of confidence on the administration of Senator Ahmed Makarafi. “They have not shown any bias and I am sure that they are putting everything in place to ensure free and credible convention,” she said.