TheCable

Raymond Dokpesi, contestant for the chairmanship position of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has warned his party faithful to beware of an impending doom.

Addressing journalists in Abuja on Thursday, the media mogul said the former ruling party needs urgent reformation.

Dokpesi warned against imposition of candidates, saying he decided to join the race to lead the party not out of greed but the desire to bring about the required change.

“If the party does not reform now, it won’t survive this crisis… the party will break and disappear into oblivion,” he said.

“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.

“My mission is to serve the party and restructure the vision of its founding fathers in line with developments that have taken place and restore strong values to deepen and strengthen the party.

“The challenges I’ve seen moved me to contest for the post of chairman. If I lose, I will still remain a loyal and committed member of PDP. My reason for being in PDP is not to be president or minister but to contribute to national development and create better future for children.”

Dokpesi reminded the party that it needs to provide a viable opposition to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

He said he would reunite the grieving factions in the party, and appealed to those who left for the APC to “return home”.

“We want to give strong opposition to this government because there is a lot hunger and poverty in the country and Nigerians are suffering,” he said.

“My ambition is for PDP to win 2019 and I am going to deploy massively for that to happen. For that reason I am going to bring back all those leaders who left and I hereby tender my unreserved apology to them to return.

“There will be level playing field for all candidates under my leadership. I am not an agent of anybody and I am not sponsored by anyone and I feel insulted to hear that someone is sponsoring me. But I have no commitment to anybody.

“I am ready to kneel down for those aggrieved to come back to the party in order for us to be victorious in 2019.”

He opposed the decision to zone the chairmanship slot to the south-west, saying the position originally beloned to the south.

“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,” he said.

“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.

“I am the most acceptable candidate for the job. It has been repeatedly made clear that the post is for the south and nothing more. Nobody can micro-zone it to the south-west. I’m pursuing the matter without violating any rule of the party and nobody can accuse me of anti-party activity.”