How PDP Lost the 2015 Elections – Panel

The panel set up to probe into factors that led to the crash of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2015 General Elections has released its report.The panel chaired by the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekerewandu, revealed that lack of internal democracy contributed in no small way to destroy the party’s fortune during the last election.The panel’s report obtained by Newsbreakers revealed that the panel observed that lack of internal democracy deforms and undermines the party’s effectiveness and provides perverse incentives for members to work against the party in the 2015 General Elections.“Lack of internal democracy infests the party’s entire administrative structure and manifests predominantly in the imposition of leaders at all levels,” the panel revealed. Another factor discovered by the panel is the non-functioning of some organs of the party that can play an intermediary role among warring factions in the party. According to the report: “The committee also observed from the submissions that party organs intended to perform mediatory roles of conflict mitigation, resolution and management at the state level are either not constituted or are dormant.”“These organs like the state Elders Committee and State Caucuses are not constituted in some states, while in others they are simply not consulted or allowed to function. These organs, had they been constituted or allowed to function, would have resolved most of the intra party squabbles before they became intractable or assumed destructive dimensions. The Committee also observed that hijacking of state party structures by governors, federal government appointees or wealthy/influential members undermine the independence and capacity of state party executive committee members to function optimally.”“This often results in the State Executive becoming mere appendages and rubber stamp of these powerful political leaders or lead to the factionalization of members of the executive committee, thus making it difficult, if not impossible, for the committee to function effectively. Because of the intense struggle between major political actors in the party, it is often difficult for the party to forge a united party executive committee.” The panel also noted that the majority of the submissions presented to it blamed PDP’s poor performance at the 2015 elections on the lack of transparency in the selection of delegates and candidates.Other factors that led to the defeat of the PDP as discovered by the panel include: the jettisoning of the zoning formula, the huge hostility against the PDP in the northern part of the country; among other factors.