2023: PDP Needs to Rescue Nigeria, Says Hayatu-Deen

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

A former Managing Director and Chief Executive of FSB International Bank, Alhaji Mohammed Hayatu- Deen, has charged the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to brace up for the challenge of rescuing Nigeria from the clutches of poverty, insecurity and economic stagnation as the country prepares for the 2023 general elections.

Hayatu-Deen stated this when he led a delegation of his political associates on a courtesy visit to the National Headquarters of the PDP in Abuja. Hayatu-Deen and his entourage were in Abuja with the National Chairman, Dr Iyorchia Ayu and members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party.

The board room guru recently revalidated his membership of the PDP at his ward in Borno State and had since then launched a series of consultations with the leaders of the party at the local, state and national levels.
Addressing the NWC members, Hayatu-Deen disclosed that he joined active politics in order to enrich the political space with the wealth of experience garnered from the private sector.

He observed that Nigeria was in dire straits and the PDP was better placed than any other political party to undertake the rescue mission required at this time.

He said PDP needed to develop a very robust and effective social and economic blue print to reposition the nation’s economy and help her reclaim her pride of place within the comity of nations.
According to him, the blueprint will help the party to repair most of the damage that had taken place in the last couple of years.

Hayatu-Deen said that the PDP, by its name, and philosophy, was designed from its inception, to serve the needs of the Nigerian people. He recalled that during the 16-year era of the party at the helm of affairs, the federal government embarked on major economic and social reforms which were carried out through both public and private initiatives
Hayatu-Deen charged the leadership of the party to remain focused on this philosophy of service to the people in all their actions and consideration of policies and programmes.

He said:”The philosophy of the party from 1999 has been designed to ensure that the country is in sync with world affairs because of the effects of globalisation, privatisation and trade liberalisation. The world has become a global village.
“It is no accident that the PDP governments from 1999 onwards decided consciously to embrace market-oriented policies and philosophy.

“I mention these to underscore the fact that as we compete for power in 2023, it is important to clearly understand and take note of all these very important and critical accomplishments of the party,” he said.

In his response, Ayu commended Hayatu-Deen for acknowledging the giant strides made by the PDP in the past and expressed confidence that the party would take Nigeria to greater heights when it regains the mandate of the people. He described the PDP as the only serious party in Nigeria, stressing that the party has been attracting a lot of high calibre personalities like Hayatu-Deen whom he described as a distinguished economist and an accomplished banker.

Ayu pledged that the PDP will continue to welcome every “serious member” especially those who will help to build the party. According to him, the party has great prospects of winning the 2023 general elections going by victories recorded in the recent Area Council Elections in the Federal Capital Territory(FCT).