Princewill Okays PDP Convention, Tasks New Leadership

Despite the condemnation of last Saturday National Convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) by the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the African Renaissance Party (ARP) in Rivers State, a former governorship candidate of the Action Congress (AC), Tonye Princewill, has expressed satisfaction with the rancour-free conduct of the convention.

Princewill currently a member of the ruling party, PDP, spoke with The Tide in an interview on Tuesday, urged the new leadership of the party headed by Alhaji Bamanga Tukur to embark on agenda that would bring the party back to the people by entrenching internal democracy.

He also urged the new leadership to make the PDP an ideology-based political institution that would distinguish itself by instituting an admirable identity.

According to him, he was convinced that the new leadership of the party would be able to reposition the party for greater challenges ahead.

Princewill challenged the new leadership of the party to discourage any undemocratic steps in the part, such as imposition and hijacking of the party’s decision-making organ by few individuals in the party.

“The party must be taken back to the people, who are truly the owners of the party, than the idea of few people staying at a place and dictating who becomes what in the party”, he said.

He noted that the rancour-free conduct of the convention has sent lessons to the opposition, saying that the challenges ahead can now be addressed in a collective manner.

He advised that the PDP must set the goal of defining its policies and ideology as most of the parties in Africa.

He emphasised that the party must state its stand and policy on education, security, agriculture, Niger Delta, minimum wage, labour, health care and to avoid the promotion of dictating policies in most of the PDP controlled states.

However, the national treasurer of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Hon Kenneth Kobani and the state chairman of the African Renaissance Party (ARP), Chief Jackson Omenuzu have faulted the conduct of the PDP during inter party elections describing it as disappointing practice.

The two accused the PDP of being afraid of elections and urged Nigerians to ensure that the PDP does not manipulate future elections in the country.