Our party is already decimated… no one is working together, says ex-Lagos PDP chairman

Tunji Shelle, former chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos, says the opposition party has been weakened across the country due to internal crisis and insincerity among its leaders.

Shelle spoke on Monday when he appeared on ‘News Day,’ a programme on Arise Television.

“I strongly believe PDP is already decimated,” he said.

“The leadership squabbles and insincerity on the part of the handlers of the party have brought us to this stage.”

The former party chairman said there is still a need for reconciliation among members, noting that time is running out.

“A lot still has to be done to be able to bring everybody together, but the earlier the better,” he said.

“PDP is decimated from state to state. I don’t know how PDP can go it alone and win any election come 2027.”

Shelle said governors are no longer working in unity and are acting out of self-interest or fear of prosecution.

“Nobody is working together. Today we see governors making moves or being arm-twisted or being manipulated for their own selfish reasons,” he said.

“Like you rightly said, probably some want to escape prosecution. Others want to have their own second term.

“It’s when you are alive that you do a second term. And if you are sincere and you fear God, that’s when there will be blessings in whatever you do.

“But most politicians don’t look at life that way. They are looking at the immediate gains.

“What does it benefit a man to do a second term and lose his own soul, lose his own credibility, and lose his own integrity? Probably many people don’t have integrity.”

Shelle criticised politicians who defect from the party that gave them a platform to attain office.
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“A party that gives you a platform to win an election—within two years you are already contemplating jumping ship. It’s so unfortunate. And I’m surprised,” he said.

“Some people, who you look at as being decent and honourable, are involved in this kind of thing.”

He said the PDP used to be a strong party but is now plagued by monetised politics and influence from powerful individuals.

Shelle expressed hope that PDP leaders would still come together to save the party from collapse.

“I wish leaders could still put heads together and navigate these very clumsy roads to the glory, success, and the unity of the party,” he said.

On April 17, Umo Eno, governor of Akwa Ibom, said his support for President Bola Tinubu’s second term is deliberate and not a betrayal of his political party.

On April 15, Eno, a member of the PDP, said Tinubu, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), would complete his eight-year tenure.

Speaking at a rally in Ikot Ekpene LGA of Akwa Ibom, Eno said his choice is rooted in sincerity, which he noted would be explained in due time.