A former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Bode George, has said the party needs an exemplary leader to rescue and lead it to redemption.
He said the party found itself in the current leadership mess because of indiscipline, selfishness and greed, as well as deviation from the idealism and principles of its founding fathers.
According to the former military Governor of Ondo State, the PDP lost the last presidential election because it was indifferent to the needs and the aspirations of the people.
George, who spoke on Monday at the party’s secretariat in Ikeja while declaring his intention to vie for the PDP national chairmanship position, explained that the party’s campaign during the last general election was hydra-headed and without a coherent balance.
He said, “We lacked direction and purposefulness. We ignored what was important to every man and woman, and pretended everything was smooth and normal.
“A lot of distortions have set in. Indiscipline has eroded the foundations of old. Selfishness and greed have compromised the great idealism and the logical principles of our founding fathers.
“Alas, this is what brought us to our unenviable position today.”
He, however, declared that he would serve as “a bridge builder, a peacemaker and a healer of the broken places,” if elected as the party’s chairman.
George stressed that the PDP national chairmanship position was not meant for untested hands, adding that he was not a stranger to the principles and processes of the PDP.
He said, “I am not a stranger to the processes, the spirit, the principles and the guiding ethos of our party. I have been part of the building processes and the nurturing of the foundations of our party across all the states and the zones throughout our nation.
“For 10 years, I served at the topmost echelons of our party hierarchy. I was the party’s vice-chairman in the South-West. I was the deputy national chairman, South. I concluded my service to our party as the deputy national chairman overall which is the second highest step to the foremost position of the national chairman.
“Most of our leaders and, in particular, my then chairman, Dr. Ahmadu Ali, are living witnesses to my commitment, my loyalty, my dedication and my total devotion to the growth and the progress of our party.
“I have learnt the ropes and I have been guided by the collective wisdom of our leaders across our great nation. I fully understand the precepts, the mechanisms and the constitution of our party.
“I know the tradition, the culture, the guiding ethos and the normative patterns that our leaders have built and nurtured for so many years.”
PUNCH NG
