PDP not sufficiently disciplined — Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has attributed the challenges in the People Democratic Party(PDP) to the lack of party discipline.
Obasanjo spoke in Ibadan on Saturday at the
caucus meeting of the PDP in the South-West zone.
The meeting was reportedly convened to address
some of the challenges besetting the party in the
zone.
The former president who just returned from a trip
to Tokyo, Japan, said, “Our party is not sufficiently
disciplined. People run from the South-West to
Abuja to claim that they are the authentic group in
the party. We should be tolerant. If you respect us,
you shall be respected.
“The issue of structure is a serious problem in the
PDP. Some people believe once they have structure
they have all it takes. This is the tool they are using
to destroy the party. Whoever ignores the word of
wisdom will regret it. I want all of you to know that
whatever your ambition you cannot unilaterally
elect yourself.”
He appealed to the party’s officials in Abuja to
represent other members without fear or favour.
On the issue of aggrieved party members, he said,
“There are some that we supposed to bring back to
the fold.”
He noted that although the PDP did not win the
Ondo State governorship election, the party was not
put to shame.
Obasanjo added, “It is not all the time that we can
win but at times we can lose gallantly. In the Ondo
election, we were gallant in performance. We
contested; we did not win but had a good showing.
The lesson to learn from the election is that all
aspirants came together in unison to support one
candidate.
“Most importantly, our party should ensure
discipline. Even in our houses, somebody has to
lead. We have to respect the elders. I don’t
understand reconciliation after spoiling things.
“There must be discipline in this party. In any
institution, there must be discipline. We must
contribute financially to the party and not wait until
we want to contest before being responsible. Our
party is due for a review of its activities in the last 14
years.
“Both at the national, zonal and state levels, we
should look at what we have done so far in the last
14 years. Review of our party will make us know
where we came from, where we are and where we
are going.”
Earlier in his address, the PDP National Vice
Chairman, (South-West) Mr. Segun Oni, said, the
objective of the meeting was to widen consultation
and participation base to ensure that the PDP in the
South-West became an all-inclusive party.
He said, “The challenge before the PDP in the South-
West is to strengthen ourselves to meet the
yearnings of the people for a change from the
present Action Congress of Nigeria led governments
at the next elections.
“Our people in the South-West have tested
alternatives and are unhappy with the performance
of the ACN.
“To achieve the objective of winning the remaining
five states of the South-West at the polls, we have to
ensure that we create level-playing fields in all our
states for our members to come together in unity,
we have to inspire healthy competitions for our
tickets at the various levels in all the states and
ensure fairness across the board.
“We are aware that there is unease across the zone.
This is very dangerous in our desire to wrest power
from incumbents. The electorate expect us as a
party to demonstrate our resolve and commitment
to take over the South-West by first closing our
ranks and creating enduring inclusiveness in all our
states.”
Among those who attended the meeting were the
National Secretary of the PDP, Olagunsoye Oyinlola;
Shuaibu Oyedokun, Yekinni Adeojo, Tajudeen
Oladipo, Mrs. Jumoke Akinjide, Mrs. Titi Ajanaku,
former PDP governorship candidate in Ondo, Mr.
Olusola Oke, and former Senator Lekan Balogun.