Goodluck Jonathan
As the 2019 general election draws near, former President Goodluck Jonathan has offered what seems to be winning strategies to his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
Mr. Jonathan was the former president of Nigeria and served under the umbrella of the party from 2010 to 2015. He earlier served as vice-president between 2007 and 2010 and took over when former President Umaru Yar’Adua died in office. He lost to President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015, the first time an incumbent president in Nigeria would lose a re-election bid.
Mr. Jonathan who has appeared sporadically in the public in recent months said for the PDP to win in 2019, in the next review of its constitution, it should enhance its statutory delegates’ format especially for the state and local government primaries.
Mr. Jonathan gave this advice while receiving a delegation of former speakers of houses of assembly elected on the platform of the party in his office in Abuja on Thursday.
He said one of the major challenges PDP is faced with is how it elects candidates and national officers.
Mr. Jonathan said there would always be crisis following the outcome of the party’s primaries or conventions until the numbers of statutory delegates to those elections are reviewed to about 70 per cent.
He also said the party must work out the modality such that no one would succeed in influencing the delegates to elections.
He added that those who had served at certain levels, including governorship, ministerial and parliamentarian positions at all levels, should be made statutory delegates.
“That is the area we have not been able to manage properly and it is still creating a problem for us. I believe the next (PDP) constitution amendment should advocate that area to be properly examined.
“From my own experience, if that area is strengthened, the party will be okay and nobody will complain at the end of primaries. If you lose, you lose gallantly and you support the person that wins,” Mr. Jonathan said.
He promised that in due time, he would speak on why the party lost in the 2015 general election to the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC.
“PDP is still the strongest party. We know the reason why we lost the elections.
“At the appropriate time, some of these things would be properly addressed because of history. There are certain things you don’t write now because it would be misunderstood as if you are playing politics. After some years, five, six or eight years, when the beneficiaries have left, you can state it in writing,” he added.
He encouraged the party members to go beyond ”the politics of the stomach” and not defect needlessly to other parties adding that the PDP ”did well during its 16-year rule.” He attributed its success to “the number of reforms it introduced and implemented.”
The former president appreciated the forum members for coming together to form the association as an important peg in the strategy of reclaiming power in 2019.
The leader of the delegation, Inuwa Garba, commended the former president ”for staying with the party even after losing the 2015 election and all the crisis that followed it.”
Ahead of the 2019 elections, intense political alignments and re-alignments are already ongoing within the ranks of prominent political parties.
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