Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo says the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will do everything possible to fix the party and Nigeria.
Mr Makinde stated this on Thursday in Abuja at the inauguration of the board of governors and the unveiling of the roadmap for the Peoples Democratic Institute (PDI).
PDI is the research arm of PDP established in 2000 to promote a new democratic culture in Nigeria and Africa by providing value-added education, training, capacity building, research, and documentation programmes.
Mr Makinde said PDP could fix Nigeria, adding that “we will fix PDP, and then PDP will fix Nigeria, which will be the basis of real hope for the people of Nigeria.
“As we approach 2027, it is clear that the PDP has to provide real hope for Nigeria. By revitalising the PDI that real hope is being provided for our people.
“Our country needs direction. Nigerians are looking up to the PDP to provide an ideological foundation.”
Mr Makinde said that with the inauguration of the board, PDP was moving a step closer to defining the ideology it stood for.
He advised politicians and leaders who were given the opportunity to serve to always ask themselves what they want to be remembered for.
The Oyo governor pledged his commitment to strengthening the country’s democracy and PDP.
“From 2019, I’ve been benefiting from PDP. So, I want to say thank you to our great party and all the stakeholders gathered here today for giving me the opportunity to get not one but two mandates, back to back, under this umbrella.
“The only thing I can promise you is that, since I fetched water from that well, and I have been drinking since 1999, I will not pollute the well when it is time for me to exit that office,” he said.
Mr Makinde also urged PDP leaders, members and stakeholders to go into the November 16 Ondo governorship election united and resist any attempt to truncate the election.
He said the PDP needed true reconciliation and unity to wrestle power from the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo.
In his remarks, former Senate President Bukola Saraki emphasised the need to jointly build PDP, saying parties are built on ideas, philosophies and policies.
He urged PDP members to move away from building ideas on self or ambition as Nigeria moves towards 2027.
“Let us desist from talking about who is running for councillors, or who is running for governor, or who is running for president in 2027.
“Let us talk about what PDP is. What does PDP represent? These are the issues and policies that we must take into account,” Mr Saraki said.
In his acceptance speech, the chairman of PDI Board of Governors, Taofeek Arapaja, pledged the governing board members’ commitment to the mission and vision of PDI and to the guiding principles of the PDP.
(NAN)
