Former Governor of Cross River State, Donald Duke has said
the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is in disarray because Ali Modu Sheriff was
called to lead the party.
In an interview with Daily Trust, Duke said Sheriff who has
been in the opposition for a long time shouldn’t have been called to lead the
party just a year after defecting.
He said, “The PDP situation is a very, very sad one not just
for the party but for the nation itself because right now there’s no viable
opposition; the opposition is in disarray. And what we have in the PDP now is
ego at play; it’s just the ego of a few individuals that is bringing down the
roof of the entire house. Maybe we need to take a deep breath, step aside and
say, listen, what is best for the party and not what is best for me.
“We made a mistake,
and I say this bluntly. I believe that former governor Modu Sheriff should not
have been invited to lead the PDP in the first place. Why? For 16 years, he was
in the opposition party. He joined the PDP and within one year of joining it,
he became the leader of the party. If you were a member of the PDP in Borno
State, who for 16 years Sheriff was your adversary, I don’t think it would be a
pleasant experience for you that he became your boss overnight.”
Duke urged both factions to come together during the
upcoming convention and settle their differences.
He said unity, strength and cooperation was needed to fight
an incumbent like the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“But having made that
mistake – I repeat, having made that mistake – we have to learn from it. I
believe that in August or thereabout there would be a national convention. Let
us all come together because a lot of effort went into building that party. So,
if in the next couple of months there is a convention and we guide ourselves
properly, we can put all these behind us.
But all this running back and forth
to court and all that will not solve the problem because eventually, what will
probably happen is that we are going to have two parties emerging from the PDP
– what Modu Sheriff is holding and what Makarfi is holding. And when you
want to fight an incumbent, you gather strength, you come together, don’t
divide the party.
“The APC defeated PDP in 2015, because they came together;
the amalgamation of various parties and not the disintegration of parties. And
so, PDP is still a very strong brand that has offices and network throughout
the country.
That is the strength, right? It should come together, put ego
aside and build the party. Unfortunately, ego is the biggest problem in dealing
with politicians. Each one wants to ‘show you who I am’ and at the end of the
day, we are nothing, absolutely nothing; it’s the country that makes you
something,” Duke added.
By Tony Adibe
