The Governor
of Delta State, Senator Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, has said the Peoples’ Democratic
Party (PDP) will take its pride of place in the nation's polity with the reinforcement
of its internal democracy.
Speaking
at a Delta State PDP Stakeholders meeting in Asaba,with the theme “Strengthening of the PDP For Improved
Performance in Delta State”, the Governor whose leadership prowess and
administration’s policies were resoundingly endorsed through a vote of
confidence, at the event, stated that the era where party leadership revolves
round individuals are over in the PDP.
“I
will continue to counsel and push for internal democracy to stay because it was
that process that threw me up and made it possible for me to emerge and gave me
the acceptability level that made it possible for us to win convincingly in
Delta State. This will start with our process that we take into the election of
those who will run our various wards and local government party Committees”
Governor Okowa said.
According
to him, “we must find ways of helping to fund the party even in the face of
very challenging times and without actually becoming the leader of the party.
When people call me the leader of the party, I do not believe it because, I am
just Mr. Governor; the party belongs to a collective leadership; there is no
one person that can claim leadership of any party and at the ward level, at the
local government level, at the state level and even at the national level there
must be collective leadership if the party is to grow.”
“The fact
that Commissioners, House of Assembly members, Council Chairmen and others fund
the party at the ward and local government level which you expect them to do,
does not accord them the role of the leader of the party where they must
continue to dictate to them,” he said, reiterating, “we will do the best we can
as a state but that does not make us leaders, superior to other leaders because
once you assume that position, you find that you want to dictate to the party;
so, I want to plead with us that we should realize that when we do things
freely and willingly all you desire will be achieved, the party will respect
you even more when you do not want to tell them you are their leader, they will
eventually in time recognize you as one of their great leaders and I hope that
we have learnt lessons from it today.”
He
also, decried situation where women will work hard during electioneering period
only to get little after the victory, stating, “we are trying to be very
inclusive in our choice of appointments, women work very hard during elections
but, when it comes to appointments, men takes pride of place, we must
accommodate more women in governance.”
“We
must continue to recognise our youths and our women, there is the need to give
them more position positions in the party other than Woman Leader and Youth
Leader; I promise to appoint women into positions but, women should be
supportive of themselves,” he added.
The
Governor who used the occasion to reel out his achievements within the past six
months which included job creation, construction of roads, among others,
assured oil producing communities that the Delta State Oil Producing Areas
Development Commission (DESOPADEC) must execute a major project in each of the
ethnic nationalities in the 2016 fiscal year.
Chairman
of the PDP in the South South zone, Dr Cairo Ojougbou, the state chairman of
the PDP, Chief Edwin Uzor at the occasion expressed confidence in the ability
of the party to grow stronger as “it has realised the mistakes that led to its
fall, especially at the centre,” while Prof. Sam Oyovbaire, Chief Benjamin
Elue, Dr (Mrs) Esther Uduehi, Rt. Hon. Funkekeme Solomon, Hon. Joyce Overa,
among others who spoke at the occasion lauded the leadership style of Governor
Okowa which has strengthened the PDP in Delta State.
High
point of the ceremony was the passing of vote of confidence on Governor Okowa
and asking him not to be discouraged by the financial situation of Nigeria’s
economy in carrying out his programmes.
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