THE CHALLENGE BEFORE NEW PDP EXCO

The party should mend divisions within in order to perform as a virile opposition

The recently elected National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Iyorchia Ayu assumes office this week along with other members of the National Working Committee (NWC). Most of them emerged at the national convention held two months ago through a consensus arrangement. Notwithstanding, Ayu and his colleagues have their job cut out for them. In the last one year, three state governors and several prominent chieftains have decamped to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). So, Ayu and his team are inheriting a party full of challenges.

The new PDP leadership will first contend with two basic issues: reconciliation of aggrieved members and the unity of the party. It will be tough to rebuild the party and reconcile aggrieved members across the country who apparently had become disconnected with the leadership of the former administration. But with Ayu’s vast experience and pedigree, he should be able to mend fences already created by the intrigues, including by his own emergence.

Meanwhile, there are expectations that the nation will have a credible opposition platform that can effectively proffer alternative views on the policies and programmes of the current All Progressives Congress (APC) administration at the centre and in majority of the 36 states. This is important because the ability of the opposition to challenge the ruling regime is integral to representative democracy. But it is also important for the PDP to learn lessons from its own experience. Just a few years ago, the party controlled more than 60 per cent of the National Assembly membership as well as 23 of the 36 states of the federation. Unfortunately, the PDP got enmeshed in a self-inflicted crisis arising from the virtual overthrow of its constitution by a cult of former and serving governors. That habitual impunity was also in full display at its recent national convention.

However, it is in the interest of our democracy that critical stakeholders who still command respect within the party resolve whatever the differences are so that the PDP can move ahead as a strong opposition platform. In the present circumstance, the PDP has a responsibility to ensure that President Muhammadu Buhari is answerable to the people by putting the spotlight on programmes and policies and making his officials more accountable. To do that effectively, the party must reinvent itself by learning from the mistakes of the past. That entails answering questions about how and why it lost power at the 2015 general elections. For us and many Nigerians, there is no better time than now for a resilient opposition that can help to galvanise and mobilise the people around alternative views. But the PDP leaders need deliberate and sustained efforts in image and perception management, to regain the confidence of the people, following their not-so-edifying record of 16 years in power.

Sadly, aside from the usual empty slogans, there is nothing to differentiate between the two political parties and that explains why members take delight in crossing from one party to the other. But if the PDP is to ever regain power at the centre, it must begin to play the politics of ideas, platforms, and programmes. It must redefine itself as a counterpoise to all that the APC promised before the 2015 general election that brought it to power but cannot deliver. As imperfect as our democracy may be, Nigerians generally seem to agree that it remains the best option for the country as it empowers the electorate to hold the government accountable and ask questions where and when necessary.

We wish the Ayu-led NWC of PDP all the best in their new assignment.