Our Concerns
We are members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) under different platforms and groups, but with common interests to ensure that the party is reformed to imbibe standard best political practices and meet the yearnings of Nigerians.
It is our candid desire to come together under this noble coalition without losing our distinctive value as individual organization, to champion the genuine concerns of party members, speak truth to power and defend the collective interest of our great party.
As concerned party men and men, we are motivated by a burning desire to ensure that the dreams of our founding fathers are realised and the PDP becomes the noblest of all parties in Nigeria and the pride of politics in Africa.
Rising from our first meeting, we resolve as follows;
Reconciliation:
We urge the Party leaders to as a matter of priority engage in an enlarged conciliatory meeting to bring all stakeholders together, including the youths and address the inherent fault lines in the party before the May 21, 2016 Convention in Portharcourt. The PDP is bigger than any individual and we must admit that there are genuine concerns that must be addressed and our party should not go to the convention divided. Let us explore every plausible option to unite the party.
The Youth:
We have noticed a consistent pattern of sidelining the youth-base of our party through lack of fair representation in the party's activities by the Senator Ali Modu Sheriff led National Working Committee. This is unacceptable to the courageous youths of the PDP who did everything selflessly to sustain the party when the elders ran for cover and pressed the mute button in the first six months of President Muhammadu Buhari's administration.
The youths turned around the "PDP-Is-Dead" noise of the opposition within this period and sustain the image of the party across the country. It is therefore disheartening and painful that our National Chairman and the NWC have now developed the habit of totally ignoring the youth constituency in the composition of committees and sub-committees. This is unacceptable and we demand for an immediate action to redress this gap and attached injustice.
Old NWC:
We sincerely demand that no member of the old NWC whose tenure expired on March 21 should return or be re-elected back to the party. It is a shame that after mismanaging the post-defeat era of the party and squandering the leftover resources of the party, some persons want to return. This is a big shame. It is the collective feelings of all our members nationwide that none of them should come back.
We consequently demand that every member of the old NWC should give account of their stewardship, individually and collectively. We shall also ensure that the finances of the party in the last two years are investigated, not as a process of witch-hunt or to probe, but to subsequently put in place international best practices in the management of the party. We cannot afford to continue in this mess that we find ourselves and expect a good fortune.
Zoning and Choices:
After the party had jettisoned the Ekweremadu's adopted report on zoning ( which will in future hunt us), we have discovered that the old order that made PDP unattractive to Nigerians has returned to the system. The allocation of offices to zones for targeted individuals under the guise of pleasing some stakeholders has been the major undoing of the PDP for ages. We ask: Why is the party always afraid of internal democracy? Why is it that our party cannot allow open and fair competitive process for the best and popular persons to emerge from the zones?
It is our candid warning that using the paddy-paddy arrangement to handpick the persons that will manage the party's affairs will hurt and hunt the PDP in the long run. We cannot eat our cake and have it as usual. A competitive process is the only best option that can help to rejuvenate the party. The overall interest of the party should be greater than that of individuals.
It is a shame that some elders in the party are trying to give the preference of producing the National Youth leader of the party to some individuals. This is undemocratic and unacceptable; it will make the leadership learning process in the party a ruse and also kills the spirit of competitive democracy. We urge the party to as a matter of necessity allow the youths to collectively determine their leader after zoning it to the Southeast through an open and competitive process.
Financial Dues:
The PDP was conceived as a common party for all Nigerians. It is therefore uncharitable to concede it funding to the National Chairman, some Governors and a few stakeholders. As a party for all, we must put in place a dues-friendly system that will allow members to pay as at when due. In this regards, preferences shall always be giving to financial members of the party first, in it activities.
As a coalition, we will continue to act as internal watchdog for the PDP. We will continue to insist that the party embraces reform to reposition it for the greater good of Nigerians. And we shall regularly be doing a State of the Party and Nation address to ensure that our party and nation gets it right. We will not be tired.
Thank you
Ariyo-Dare Atoye
Co-Convener
The coalition is presently comprises of:
PDP National Youth Frontier - Usman Okai
Rethink Nigeria - Pascal Metuh
Democratic Young Patriots – Beni Ummohren
PDP Reformation Group, USA - Yemi Olowokere
Democracy International – Brume Best
And still counting..
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