A Chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Member of the Board of Trustees, PDP, Senator Abdul Ningi, has said the party is not the property of any individual and will resist any attempts to diminish its influence.
He stated this during an interview with Arise News on Wednesday, noting that “PDP has a history and it was not formed a decade ago. It was formed more than two decades ago by some of the best political brains in the country.”
He said, “When I look at people comparing their powers to that of the PDP, I’m always taken aback. Remember, 24 years ago, most of these key actors that are in place are products of this party; they would not have been anything if not for the PDP.”
“PDP is a party that has produced three presidents; PDP is above individuals.” He acknowledged the efforts of the reconciliation committee but noted that “you need to understand the mindset of some key actors is that this party must not survive. This party does not warrant our sympathy because at a time in the immediate past, some people did not get what they wanted. The key actors are members of the PDP; otherwise, there wouldn’t have been a crisis.
“You cannot be a member of the PDP and be a member of another party; you can’t be a member of the PDP and at the same time enriching and influencing other members to buy the PDP,” Ningi stressed, emphasising the importance of loyalty.
Speaking on a sitting PDP governor potentially leaving the party, he said, “It really disturbed us, so we reached out to him, and he confirmed to us that he will remain in the party. We came back after talking to him with all the information we had, but we are not bringing this information into the public domain because part of the crisis has to do with the current Minister of the FCT.”
Ningi expressed optimism about upcoming discussions with the FCT Minister, stating, “I take his statement in good faith because what we need is unity, coming together with the same aspirations.”
Reflecting on the resilience of the PDP, Ningi noted that “PDP has been the biggest political party on the face of the continent and the most organised political party. Just because we lost an election in 2015 does not mean that the party will vanish. However, anybody that tries to bring down the party into banishment, we will resist him. We are not going to fight anybody, but we will sort out things our way according to the rules and constitution of the party.”
The Senator also criticised the tendency of politicians to switch parties after electoral losses, saying, “Politics is a very serious matter; it needs dedication, a complete submission to the party. It needs a lot of firepower to be able to cultivate and call the interest of people to say we are the best, we can serve. But when you find yourself jumping from one party to another, it becomes a problem.”
Lastly, Ningi pointed out that “the government of the day understands that we have what it takes to bring about positive change in the country because Nigerians are comparing what we have done between 1999 and 2015 to what they have done from 2015 to date.”
Recall that recently, the Board of Trustees of the People’s Democratic party had visited the governor of Rivers State, the team was led by former Senate President Adulphus Wabara, the PDP BoT members were on a fact finding mission, following the protracted crisis between the governor and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
