A national chairmanship aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party, Dr. Raymond Dokpesi, has warned that the party may go into oblivion if it does not get it right during its forthcoming national convention.
Dokpesi, who is from the South-South, called on the leadership of the party to reform it, otherwise, it will not survive its current crisis.
He said, “The party will break and disappear into oblivion. I tell you that if the party does not reform now, it won’t survive the crisis,” he told journalists in Abuja on Thursday.
“Time has come for the party to determine its future. I represent reform. If we love the party and if we want to move the party forward and also deepen democracy then we have to leave the old way of overbearing, imposition that brought us to where we are. We are hungry for a new way of doing things.”
Dokpesi denied claims that he was engaging in anti-party activities by contesting in the elections, scheduled to take place at the national convention of the party in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Wednesday, August 17.
The national leadership of the party had zoned the office of the national chairman to the southern part of the country.
However, leaders from the zone met and zoned the office to the South-West, a zone that has yet to produce the national chairman of the party in its 18-years history.
But Dokpesi said it was wrong for the zonal leaders of the PDP to put aside the decision of the national body by going ahead to further zone the position.
He said, “The constitution of the party vested the power to zone on the National Working Committee as represented by the Sen. Ahmed Makarfi-led caretaker committee.
“It zoned the office to the entire south. When you are in government, you can do micro zoning, but now you have to look for the best. The zoning of the president was done to the entire north. The office had not been zoned to any of the three zones from the north.
“Makarfi has said so, that anyone who feels he can win the election and knows he is capable of leading the party, is free.
“I have visited about 24 states when that micro zoning was done. Now, I have covered 34 states and FCT, leaving Taraba and Adamawa States.”
The businessman insisted that he remained the best candidate for the job because, according to him, he does not belong to any faction in the party.
He said his past and present contributions to the party stood him out among other candidates gunning for the position.
He appealed to the governors, leaders of the party to allow the delegates to the convention choose their leaders without interference.
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