Front-line chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George has said notwithstanding the defeat it suffered during the last general election, the opposition party remains the only political platform imbued with the capacity to strengthen the unity of Nigeria and make it great again.
Bode George said the 16 years of experience by PDP in ruling Nigeria has been an asset which he said could not be acquired by any other political party, including the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
He said governance in Nigeria at the moment is generally perceived as drifting because many of those in power are bereft of depth, exposure and the experience required in running a purposeful government.
Bode George said this In Lagos on Saturday when some members of the PDP paid him a visit with the intent to urge him to contest the Chairmanship position of the party.
He told the PDP members drawn from Oyo, Ogun, Ondo and Ekiti states, led by their counterparts in Lagos that the party offered stable governance while it spread wealth and prosperity equally across the federation because it had experienced men and women in the saddle.
The PDP, he said, has been good to democracy in Nigeria, alluding first to its ability to conduct free, fair and transparent general elections from 2003 till 2015, while also ensuring the transition of power from a government to the other, including to the then opposition party, APC
He argued that the practice of sectionalism, nepotism and undue favouritism were never an issue under the PDP governments, recalling that successive governments under PDP promoted the sense of cohesion and national unity in Nigeria, all through.
He recalled also that Nigeria was roundly prosperous under the PDP rulership, attributing the grace to the display of expertise and know-how on economic management by many of those he said the party carefully selected to do the job.
He said the PDP government succeeded more in entrenching democracy in the past 16 years by its ability to encourage all the arms of government to work harmoniously in the interest of Nigeria.
He expressed regrets that the good legacies built by the PDP to stabilise democracy and promote unity and oneness of Nigeria are gradually being dismantled by the APC government which he said has succeeded in imposing hard times on Nigerians.
He urged the PDP members to work hard for the return of the party to power in 2019 and to use the coming National Convention by the party to lay a solid foundation through the election of a new set of leaders to man the affairs of the party.
Bode George said he agreed to join the race for the Chairmanship of the PDP because of the outpouring of support he has so far received from the south-west zone and also from the calibre of individuals backing his aspiration.
He said, “Of course, when you talk about experience, you can count that we have it in abundance. I had played prominent roles in building the PDP as one of the strongest political parties in Africa. I have had long years of serving in the party and in the process contributed immensely to the progress that the PDP government recorded in many areas.
“I do not have any other motive for accepting to contest the Chairmanship of my party other than reverting to wealth of experiences I had had over the years towards rebuilding it and positioning it for getting back the power that the APC took from us in 2015”.