By Ovie Okpare
Immediate past governor of Delta State, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, says the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) remains the party to beat in the forthcoming 2023 general elections.
Uduaghan further stated that despite the internal wrangling within the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the former ruling party is still the dominant party across Nigeria.
The former governor spoke while answering questions on Politics Today on Channels Television.
According to him, PDP can wrestle power from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) if the party is able to put its act together in the forthcoming October national elective convention of the party.
He, however, stated that the chances of the party nosedived in previous elections owing to the management of the party’s affairs.
The former Delta governor noted that ahead of the 2023 general elections in the country, the PDP stand at an advantage position to reclaim power from the President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023 only if the party puts its act together.
While expressing optimism of the party bouncing back to power in 2023, Uduaghan said, “If the PDP quickly gets its act right in the October Convention we are holding by electing somebody or people into the National Working Committee (NWC) that can lead the party to victory…
“Don’t forget it’s not the whole of the National Working Committee that has problem. Few of the key members have problem. If we are able to get it right in the NWC and moving in the right direction.
“What’s on ground now is very favourable for PDP because right now the other major party, which is the APC, is as good as not being in position to face any major opposition. So, we are hoping that by October when we (PDP) get a new leadership, we’ll be strong enough to upturned whatever we lost before.
“Don’t forget, PDP has remained PDP since 1998 when it was formed. It has not changed name, it has not changed form, it has not changed anything. It’s the only party that has retained it name since 1998.”
Expressing optimism that PDP will return to power, Uduaghan, who Delta governor between 2007 to 2015, added, “And if you do some investigations, if you go to the grassroots across Nigeria, the PDP is still the dominant party at the grassroots across Nigeria.
“But for some reasons, basically, due to the management of the party, we lost some elections we ought not to have lost if things were run properly. So, we are very hopeful. We are very optimistic that a strong leadership will lead to victory in the near future.”
Speaking on the botched plans to oust the National Chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, he said if not for the swift intervention of some key leaders of the party, he would have been sacked by now.
“People saw that he was doing well until somewhere along the line he fell out, probably and mainly with his strongest supporters (what you will call the godfathers) then they wanted him out”, Uduaghan added.
