George, a former military administrator in Ondo State, warned that failure to rebuild the PDP on the tripod of equity, fairness and justice would further disrupt the main opposition party.
He made these remarks during a phone conversation with THISDAY Friday, warning that the PDP could only regain its lost glory if the new leaders ensure equity, fairness and justice in all their activities and dealings.
Under Ayu’s chairmanship, the new NWC assumed office Friday with the promise to restore the party back to the people while emphasising the need to reinvigorate, reinvent and reposition the PDP to take over in 2023.
Ayu had, in his acceptance speech, claimed that the PDP “is the only organic political party in Nigeria that has remained a credible, tested, tasted and trusted mass movement since the return of democracy in 1999. Other political parties had either fizzled away or merged with other.”
He had also claimed that other political parties had mutated into a contraption like the ruling All Progressives Congress, without any clear ideology or a coherent programme of action. This contraption, according to the new national chairman, seduced Nigerians with propaganda in 2015.
With the inauguration of new leaders, George faulted the decision of the PDP to zone office of the national chairman to the north without zoning other top offices alongside.
Already, George explained that the national chairman “is from the North. Other top offices have not been zoned. If our presidential candidate now emerges from the North, it means we will go back to the national convention to re-arrange all those positions that have been re-zoned.”
He said the PDP should have pronounced where the presidency would be zoned, saying there “are six key positions zoned to each geo-political zone. The founding fathers of the PDP conceptualised it for the purpose of equity, fairness and justice among all geo-political zones.
“The six top positions include the President, Vice President, the President of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and National Chairman of the party.
“It was designed such that no geo political zone will go home without a major political office. Failure to entrench equity, fairness and justice disrupted the First Republic. In this dispensation, the new leaders of the PDP must build on the tripods of equity, fairness and justice. The idea that the winners take all while the minority is not to be seen or heard will counterproductive.
“If the presidency is zoned to the north, vice presidency comes to the south. While the senate presidency goes to the north, the speaker will come to the south. The SGF will go to the north while the national chairman of the party will come from the south.
“After eight years, those offices that go to the North will come to the South and those in the south will come to the North. This issue of zoning the office of the PDP National Chairman alone is consistent with the decision of the founding fathers.”
He urged Ayu “to be courageous to tell the truth at all times. Ayu has been a member of the party for long. He has also been a good politician. I believe he will tell the truth. At this stage of his life, he should not be afraid of anything. He should deploy experience to manage the party.
“I knew some of them from the beginning. They are highly respected and responsible people. If they make equity, fairness and justice their cardinal agenda, the PDP will regain its lost glory again.
“Equity, fairness and justice are the tripods, which on a political party can sit and function in the interest of the electorate. On any matter of interest, the new leaders led by Dr. Iyorchia Ayu should be equitable, fair and just.
“The new leaders must bear in mind that the PDP is not a private company. If they manage the party equitably, fairly and justly, there should not be any problem. That is what Nigerians are clamouring for now.
“Once they ensure equity, fairness and justice to hold our party, we can easily sell our agenda and programmes to the electorate nationwide. We must bear in mind that electorate are more in number than those of us who card-carrying members of the party.
“We must show to the world that we are capable of governing Nigeria accountably and transparently. Democracy is about openness. It is about commitment. It is about loyalty. It is a private enterprise. The PDP has been wobbling on the tripod of equity, fairness and justice,” he explained.
