Delegates to the National Convention of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) have been charged to consider the overall survival of the party in deciding whom to vote for as the next chairman of the party at the December 9 convention.
The delegates were warned that voting a greenhorn who has no requisite knowledge of party management would spell doom for the party as it prepares for the 2019 general elections.
Chief Olabode George, an aspirant to the office of the PDP Chairman, speaking after returning his nomination form to the National Secretariat of the party in Abuja on Thursday, said it would be disastrous to allow someone not grounded in the workings of the party to take over its control.
The Lagos politician also warned the party to refrain from anything that would cause confusion during the upcoming national convention of the party.
He said the exercise could not afford to be mismanaged or else it would have negative effects for the future of the party.
George, however, dismissed talks of a parallel National Convention allegedly being threatened by some renegade members of the party, saying that he was not aware of such a plan.
He added: “I don’t know anything about that. I read it like you also read it. We will clearly be better briefed today.
“I want to appeal that we have to be extremely careful in managing the Convention. We cannot afford any more crisis.”
He praised the National Caretaker Committee (NCC) under leadership of Senator Ahmed Makarfi for their effort in managing the affairs of the party.
According to him, “I met a few of them (National Caretaker Committee members) and congratulated them because six people have been managing this massive organization.
“Standard managers should be 18. You can’t compare six heads to 18. To err is human; there will be mistakes.”
Also speaking, the former Special Adviser, Media to Senator David Mark as Senate President, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, who is aspiring to be the National Publicity Secretary of the party, said PDP is at a point where it needs the best hands to run its affairs.
Ologbondiyan said Nigerians were looking up to the PDP for a viable opposition that would strengthen the nation’s democracy and that their hopes must not be dashed.
He said in line with the party’s logo, it was time to rebrand it adding “the umbrella shields the people both from the sun and rain.”
Ologbondiyan, who consider himself as the best candidate for the job, challenged other aspirants to a public debate to prove to party members their competence for the position of image-maker for the PDP.