Former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George, has said that now that the election is over, his party should ensure a solid opposition through constructive criticism to whip President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his party in line and move Nigeria forward.
This was just as the PDP Chieftain enjoined the leadership of his party to look inward to examine what went wrong that made it perform below average in the last general elections in the country, warning that the party should avoid situations that would make it go into oblivion like the defunct All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP).
Chief George gave this position on Tuesday while addressing newsmen in his office in Ikoyi, Lagos, saying that irrespective of the differences between him and President Tinubu, what was paramount to him and his party was to whip the president and his party in line to ensure Nigeria moves forward.
“I want to appeal to you; it is not a matter of joining his party; we must have a solid opposition to put them, the APC members, on their toes, and as long as I live, in the next four years, that will be the role we are going to play. And it is good for them because if everybody is telling the APC and the president that what you are doing is fantastic, sir, you know the noisemakers there who are saying what the president is doing is fine, they will be the first to condemn the president when he is out of office,” the PDP chieftain said.
“The president is not a young man; he knows whether people are polishing him and pretending that he is the best fellow. He should watch his back.
“What I owe President Bola Tinubu now is to forget about the differences between us; this nation must grow, and when we are in opposition, we must keep them on their toes for the good of our nation. That is the responsibility that I foresee as an opposition party,” he added.
George, while further speaking on the need for a strong opposition, argued that without such an APC, the government would take this country on a journey ride and do whatever pleases it.
“If there is no strong opposition, the APC government will take this country on a journey ride, but when we give them constructive criticism, they will think twice before doing things. They will say, before this party comes and slams us, let us consider all options, not a one-sided option,” he said.
Chief George called for frantic effort on the part of PDP leaders to resuscitate, reposition the party, and ensure that it did not go into oblivion like the defunct ANPP, saying that there was a need to set up a committee of loyal and dedicated members that would visit each state of the federation to find out what the problem was.
He warned that any attempt to sweep the problem under the rug would spell doom for the party and further warned that this was not the right time for anybody to be scheming for positions in the party as, according to him, there must be a solution to the challenges facing the party first.
“It is human to make mistakes; when it happens like this, that we got an uppercut in the struggle for Nigeria, yes, the most sensible thing to do is to go back and do an in-depth analysis of what we did wrong and what we did right, and then clean up the Augean stable and reposition the party for the future.
“There should be no short approach; sweeping everything under the carpet is a foolish way to do it.
“We must set up a committee that will go around the country, move from state to state, and make inquiries on what their experiences were, what happened in each of the states regarding finances, and the political aspect. How were the primaries conducted in each state? Who did what or otherwise?
“What I am saying is that the party must conduct a meeting, and we must set up a committee of very knowledgeable, loyal, dedicated, and committed leaders to visit every state of the federation for their experiences. Where they did well, we will know; where they didn’t do well, we will also know so they can bring the report and discuss it,” Chief George said.
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