Yemi Obafemi
Former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bode George, has said the party will adopt an accommodating approach toward members who worked against it in the 2023 elections, stressing that punitive measures will not be rushed.
George stated this on Channels Television’s Lunchtime Politics on Tuesday while responding to questions on how the party intends to handle members such as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde.
His words: “As a political party, you will have all kinds of characters, and your ability to manage those characters will impact positively on the electorate.
“We want them to see that we can be accommodating. You can disagree without being disagreeable. We’ve given these characters some time, but if they cannot roll back and fall in line, then the sledgehammer will be brought on them. ”
George also praised the decision of PDP governors and the National Executive Council (NEC) to zone the presidential ticket to the South while retaining the national chairmanship in the North, describing it as a move toward fairness and balance.
“Unanimously, in that NEC meeting yesterday (Monday), we agreed to zone the ticket to the south for the next four years to complete the eight years in the south. But human beings manipulate because they want to grab power, and it’s nothing but self-centredness.
“I must emphatically thank all our governors; they are respectable young men. They held a meeting in Gusau and told themselves the truth, examined the facts and came up to say, ‘Look, there is no question of the chairman and president being in the same zone,’” George
He noted that some former members who defected were already returning, having realised that fairness and equity must prevail.
“It is refreshing to see us reunite as one indivisible party. A house divided against itself is bound to be defeated,” he added.
