By Ikhili Ebalu, Benin City
As political parties warms up for the 2020 gubernatorial election in Edo State, a chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Macdonald Igbinoba Confidence, has said the party may again lost the election if it failed to conduct congress before the governorship primary election.
Recall, that a chieftain of the party, Jeffrey Osamede Edorodion, had last week called on the national leadership of the party as a matter of urgency to dissolve the Dan Orbih- led executive and conduct a new one.
Edorodion said the call was sequel to the expiration of the executive.
Confidence, an executive member of the Ikpoba Okha local government chapter of the party in an interview with newsmen in Benin City, weekend said early conduct of the state Congress will enable the party to resolve all the likely grievances that may arise from it, before the governorship primary election.
” A state congress for March or April 2020 will certainly keep the party in perpetual opposition as there will not be sufficient time to resolve whatever grievances may arise from the congress, let alone that which may arise from the governorship primaries.
“Waiting till March 2020 will again be counter productive to the party’s desire and aspirations to win Edo state”, she said.
She noted that for the party to reclaim the state in the 2020 governorship election, the national, zonal and state leadership of the party must ensure that the congress is conducted before the end of 2019.
The chieftain, who expressed confidence that the party will win the gubernatorial election, noted that the feat can only be achieved if the needful is done by the national leadership of the party by ensuring that the state Congress is conducted on time.
She said failure to do that which is right and appropriate will again be tantamount to losing the state to the ruling All Progressives Congress.
“Both the national, zonal and state leadership of the party should join hands together to do the right thing. Not doing the right thing will make the party fail again in the next governorship election. The only way out, for me is for the leaders to conduct Congress early enough probably by October or November, this year.
Confidence who noted that the party as well as the entire people in the state are tired of being in opposition, added that members at the grass roots level have started indicating interest to vie for various positions in the party’s executives.
Reacting a chieftain of the party, Michael Obasuyi, urged the members not to divide the party.
According to him, I want to tell you categorically that I spoke with the State Chairman some Months back , and he told me in plain words- “that our tenure will soon come to an end.
“I would not even want to stay even for one(1) day, not because of anything, but because I feel I have done my own part, made my mark, and let another leader continue from where I stopped”, he stated.
He however advised members to maintain peace and shun anything capable of dividing the party.
He also cautioned against unfounded speculations from any quarter regarding tenure elongation,.saying there are a lot of mischief-makers waiting to divide the party.
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