To this end, a 46-member constitution review committee will be meeting from Tuesday, January 12 to Saturday, January16 in order to consider suggested amendments in the party’s constitution.
Speaking in Abuja, the chairman of the review committee and the PDP National Legal Adviser, Mr. Kwon Victor, said the constitution review was part of the ongoing reform and rebranding process meant to reposition and transform the party to return to its winning ways
He said the committee would consider some aspects of the report of the post- election panel headed by the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekwerenmadu. The Legal Adviser explained that due to the current status of PDP as an opposition party, it has become necessary for it to re-jig its structure and operational style so as to remain active and relevant.
Some of the recommendations of the panel which will require amendment of the party’s constitution include those that had to do with conduct of biometric registration of members and change from use of delegate system to direct primaries in choosing persons to all elective positions in the party.
Among those listed to attend the five-day review conference are governors of Ondo state, Olusegun Mimiko​; Delta State - Ifeanyi Okowa​; Taraba state - Darius D. Ishaku​; Kogi state - Idris Wada​; Ebonyi state - Nweze David Umahi​​, Alhaji Shehu Shema​, and Dr. Kema Chikwe​.
Among the many key recommendations of the Senator Ekwerenmadu’s panel is the proposed nationwide biometric membership registration to align the party records with modern technology and further boost the integrity of its membership records as a precursor to other reforms top officials have recommended.
It was recommended that the Party should henceforth be self-funding, relying on membership registrations and enforcement of dues and levies as its primary sources of income at all levels in line with the PDP Constitution. This is with a view to ending the prevailing situation where those who pay the piper dictate the tune.
The panel had asked that the role of ‘party leader’, be jettisoned with and discontinued at all levels as this would serve to strengthen the structure of the party at all levels.
Furthermore, it was recommended that the party adopt direct primary as the sole means of electing PDP candidates for any election at all levels. The use of delegates has been grossly compromised and abused, and should therefore be discontinued forthwith to return true ownership of the Party to the people, the panel had noted.
It was also recommended to the party to strictly apply the zoning principle at all levels. In particular, since the last President of PDP extraction came from the southern part of Nigeria, it was recommended that PDP’s presidential candidate in the 2019 general elections should come from the northern part of the country.
The Acting National Chairman of PDP, Chief Uche Secondus had while explaining the idea behind the national conference held by the party late last year, noted that the objective was to use it for reconciliation, mobilisation and as a means of educating critical stakeholders of the party on the reform programmes being pursued by the national leadership.
According to him, PDP is determined to put forward its best in an effort to ensure that the gains of democracy are sustained and to re-engineer the ideals, core- values and principles of the PDP as bequeathed to the present members by the party’s founding fathers.
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