Gov Douye Diri of Bayelsa State has called on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to focus on resolving the crisis rocking the party rather than heaping blame on the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) if it wishes to be an effective opposition.
Diri emphasized that while it may be tempting for the PDP to criticize the ruling party or others, actual vitality as an opposition can only be achieved by addressing its challenges.
Diri shared this perspective during a press interview following the establishment of the PDP South-South Zonal Caretaker Committee.
The inauguration was viewed as a positive development, yet it coincided with claims that the APC was exacerbating conflicts within various parties.
According to Diri, the pressing question remains whether the PDP can emerge as a robust and proactive opposition in the future.
He noted: “We must turn our attention inward. As highlighted by the chairman of the Board of Trustees, our priority should be to resolve our own issues first.
“It’s very easy for you to point these same fingers at people from outside, but what is happening within us?
“So, the PDP has to sit back and then fix its own internal issues and challenges; that is only when you can stand up to compete with others.
“For me, I want the PDP to be competitive with other political parties. We are indeed the oldest political party in Nigeria, so we have no reason to be accusing outsiders.
“Let us look inward and fix our challenges, and I’m sure by the time we do that, we will be out there to be very competitive.
“The political will is with the people, the members of the party, and we are all members of the party.
“So, the moment we all come to that resolution, that we need to fix our party, there can be no one person that is bigger than the party.”
The Bayelsa State Governor, while describing the inauguration of the caretaker committee as a step forward, said the south-south zone of PDP had resolved to be united.
“I will not say totally that the party has been restored but in our zone, you will agree with me that that’s the only zone where you have four governors of the PDP, and we have all resolved, and we are together in this.
“Four of us. The deputy governor of Delta is here. I have just received messages from the governors of Akwa Ibom and Rivers. So, it shows that we are together.
“If we are together, what we will do is to also show leadership and work with the zonal committee, so that our zone will be safe again for the PDP,” Diri said, urging the zonal caretaker committee to look into every area assigned to it by the party’s National Working Committee, to bring the party in the zone together.
