The national leadership of the Peoples
Democratic Party has said that only Nigerians are in the position to say
why the party was rejected at the poll during the last general
elections.
It said the rejection of the party was
still a surprise despite the achievements it claimed the party recorded
in the last 16 years during which it was in control of the Federal
Government.
The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Chief Olisa Metuh, stated this at a press briefing in Abuja on Monday.
He was speaking at the 17th year’s anniversary of the formation of the former ruling party.
Using his own criteria, Metuh said his
party did well by not only promoting the spirit of democracy in the 16
years, but by also fighting corruption and promoting the image of the
nation.
But when asked whether with such
achievements he was astonished that majority of Nigerians still rejected
the party during the last general elections, he said only Nigerians
could provide answers to the question.
He said, “Only the voting public can say
why we were rejected. We must have made our mistakes and some of the
issues that affected the election had to do with the people.
“We believe that we did our best for the
Nigerian people and we got the largest number of people from the
Diaspora to start business here.
“In those 16 years, we did our best. We created a system where merits were recognised.
“We created a lot of super rich
Nigerians, like Dangote, Oando and other companies. Nigerian companies
now compete with foreign companies in the oil and gas sector.”
He said it would be wrong to say that
the party created corruption. He added that because of its belief that
corruption should be stamped out of the country, the party through the
Presidents it had produced fought the menace with vigour.
He said this was the reason why
anti-corruption agencies, like the Economic and Financial Crime
Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related
offences Commission were created.
He said, “Was corruption part of our
achievements, no. In fact, anti-corruption was part of our achievements
because we formed and created EFCC and the ICPC.
“These agencies were created with strict
establishing and operation laws to ensure effectiveness and immunity
from executive interferences.”
He added that down the years, SERVICOM
desks were opened in ministries and agencies to further ensure ethical
standards in government businesses.
Metuh added that as a result of these
deliberate policies, human right and business friendly environment were
created and they saw to the massive return of Nigerians in the Diaspora
and the influx of direct foreign investments into the country.
Asked why key members were leaving in
droves if actually the party has done well in the past 17 years, Metuh
said, “If people cannot handle competition, there is nothing we can do
about that.”
He said, “Some members felt that they
were not well protected when they sought assistance. Others left because
we lost election. Others for selfish reasons while some others left
when they felt they were honestly not accommodated in the party.”
Asked why the PDP lost election in spite
of its achievements, Metuh added, “Only the voting public can say why
we were rejected. What happened during the election has nothing to do
with our achievement.”
Reacting to the statement made by a
former PDP National Chairman and a former Minister of Defence, Dr.
Haliru Bello, that the PDP was destroyed when it jettisoned its zoning
formula, Metuh said that the statement was Bello’s personal opinion.
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