The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has apologised to Nigerians for its short-comings during the 16 years it was in government.
The party’s national chairman, Mr. Uche Secondus tendered the apology at a public discourse, ‘Nation Building: Resetting the Agenda,’ launched by the party in Abuja on Monday.
“I hereby, as the national chairman, do admit that the PDP made a lot of mistakes; we are humans, not spirits and the ability to admit is key in moving forward.
“We admit that we have made several mistakes; we have passed through all our challenges and have acquired the experience no other party can boast of.
“We were sanctioned by Nigerians at the polls in 2015; let me use this opportunity to apologise for our past mistakes.
“It is the honest thing to do, a legacy to transfer to our children; we cannot continue like that.
“When we make mistakes, we should come out boldly to the people and apologise.
“It is important to do so because we have learnt from our mistakes unlike the All Progressive Congress (APC) that will make mistakes and lie to cover it.
“We apologise to Nigerians that we have made mistakes, we have learnt our lessons and we are ready to begin on a new slate; experience is the best teacher, no other party has it,” he said.
The PDP chairman admitted that: “We were sanctioned by Nigerians at the polls in 2015… We apologise that we have made mistakes, we have learnt our lessons and we are ready to begin on a new slate; experience is the best teacher, no other party has it.”
Thereafter, Secondus took a swipe at the federal government controlled by the All Progressives Congress (APC) saying the PDP will rescue the country from the former’s misrule.
“All gains have been clearly eroded through an acute lack of the understanding of the intricacies of governing a complex state like Nigeria.
“It has quickly become apparent that propaganda and unrealistic promises that helped the current ruling party to power could not and cannot deliver the much-needed dividends of democracy. You need competence and capability to do that,” he said.
He said The APC government had failed in combating corruption, tackling insecurity, especially the Boko Haram terrorist sect, and revamping of the economy.
“Today, the scorecard of the ruling party on all scores is embarrassingly abysmal,”
“Today, there is often swift action occasioned by extensive media trials when it comes to investigating opposition leaders all in a desperate move to give a dog a bad name in order to hang it.
“But Nigerians are witnesses to this government’s inability to extend same courtesies to its own members. It is a clear case of selective fight against corruption,” he said.
Secondus said the PDP had put its house in order stressing that the headquarters of the party at Wadata House would only coordinate affairs as power had been devolved to the zonal, states and wards.
“There are no votes to be solicited or won at Wadata House. We are committed to the respect of the rule of law and I assure you that not only will your votes count in our primaries across the land; I assure you that your voice will be heard. “We are evolving from who we were to who we ought to be, principled party of avowed democrats who are committed to building a virile, strong nation whether we are in government or opposition.
“As a party, we have been through various challenges, ups and downs, good and bad, failure and success, promotion and demotion and yet we are still standing. “We are a party that despite our differences, possess a strong unity of purpose.
“We are a party that has lost and won; celebrated and mourned. We spot talent and nurture them and our track record speaks eloquently for us.
“Our appeal is universal regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, creed or religion. We are a truly democratic party that is not ruled by ‘cabals’ or even a ‘lion’, he added.
He called on Nigerians to join the Rescue Nigeria Mission by registering to vote, holding all elected leaders accountable, voting for only candidates that will deliver, vote and vote right as well as support the Rescue Nigeria initiative in its entirety.
“We extend our hand of fellowship to other political parties, groups and organizations that share in our passion and desire to rescue Nigeria from inept leadership,” he said.
In his contribution, a chieftain of the party, Chief George Bode, said that the position of the party leadership rekindled his loyalty.
George called on members of PDP who left the party as a result of its past mistakes to return home from the “wilderness’’.
“This is period of election, let the people know the difference, that this is a party with experience.
“To err is human, to forgive is divine. You have done the talk; let our people go work the talk. We will ensure that that will be the message we will carry to the local leaders.
“All our founding fathers should come back and unite with the party. Some of them have gone to the wilderness,” he said.
The programme, which attracted many PDP founding fathers and presidential aspirants, had a panel of discussants which analysed the state of the nation.
