The Peoples Democratic Party has rolled out the drums to celebrate its achievements over 17 years, saying that the party has recorded success in the area of national integration, economic development and attraction of foreign investment.
The party added that this is worth celebrating even though it had accepted the election defeat by the All Progressives Congress in good faith, stressing that the loss was not due to poor performance, This Day reports.
The national publicity secretary of the PDP, Olisa Metuh, made this disclosure at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja on Monday, August 31.
He said that the PDP had been able to weather the storm and it is the only Nigerian political party that is owned and controlled by the Nigerian people.
Metuh said that the party’s loss during the last election had nothing to do with the performance in government, adding that the party is still studying the situation and will report back to the public when the study is concluded.
On whether the jettisoning of zoning contributed to the defeat of the party, the PDP spokesman said the party is yet to take a stand on this.
He pointed out that until the Ekwerenmadu committee submits its report the party cannot adopt an official position.
However, Metuh said that though there are genuine cases of aggrieved members, most of the defections suffered by the party were due to their inability to survive stiff competition for relevance.
He said the PDP still stands tall in history as the first political party in Nigeria to nurture and sustain a democratic system of government and a stable polity uninterrupted for 17 years.
Metuh said: “To reposition the economy for greater productivity, successive PDP administrations applied an economic policy, which enhanced a dynamic economy, in which market forces are combined with the forces of partnership, solidarity and cooperation to boost private sector participation and emergence of an empowered middle class system in the country.
“As you are aware, the hallmark of the PDP administration was anchored on the policy of transfer of wealth from the public sector to hardworking and enterprising Nigerians. This resulted in the rapid expansion of the nation’s economic frontiers with an unprecedented growth in small and medium scale enterprises, which helped in providing employment for millions of our citizens across the country.
Metuh said that the PDP did a lot to put in place a conducive environment for business to thrive in the country and for the economy to blossom.
“I believe that we did our best for the country and that the party made people to once again have faith in the affairs of the country and that some Nigerians from the Disapora came back to the country due the the confidence they had in the PDP-led administration.
“On the fight against corruption, he said what the party did was to put in place adequate legal measures to fight corruption in line with the provisions of the constitution, adding that at no time did the party encourage hounding of innocent persons or persecuting persons with opposing views.
“The PDP government, in the same vein, immediately established the two major anti-corruption agencies, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), with strict establishing and operation laws to ensure effectiveness and immunity from executive interferences. Down the years, Servicom desks were opened in ministries and agencies to further ensure ethical standards in government businesses.”
The PDP recently called on Nigerians to join the party when the party launched an e-membership registration platform to boost its membership strength in the country.
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