PDP And 14 Years Of Democratic Dividends

Text of World Press Conference by the National Publicity
Secretary of The Peoples Democratic Party (Pdp) Chief Olisa Metuh on the
fourteenth anniversary of the Pdp, August 31, 2012. Excerpts

Today, the 31st of August 2012 is the fourteenth anniversary
of our great Party, the Peoples Democratice Party (PDP). We all recall that
exactly today in 1998, the heroic efforts of eminent Nigerians from all walks
of life to form a credible, nationwide, issue and people based political party
were crowned with the official lunching of our great party at the International
Conference Centre, Abuja.

The visions of the founding fathers of our party, the
critical elements of its manifesto which centred on re-building Nigeria into a
pride in the comity of nations, its untrammeled credibility as a truly national
political party that has been providing a platform for all Nigerians to realise
their political aspirations irrespective of religious, ethnic or cultural
affiliations differentiate the PDP from its contemporaries, indeed, any other
political party in the history of Nigeria. This unique character of our party
has been the major reason for its preference by Nigerians who have continued to
renew our mandate as seen in 1999, 2003, 2007 and in 2011.

Ladies and gentlemen, after fourteen years of the formation
of the PDP and thirteen years in leadership of our dear nation, we are happy to
express our deep satisfaction at the roles we have so far played in the course
of the development of Nigeria. Nigeria has moved from a pariah nation which it
once was, to an influential global player since the inception of the PDP
government. Our status as a regional, continental and global power has been
enhanced.

Part of the cardinal visions of our founding fathers was to
form a large, all encompassing political party, with shoulders broad and strong
enough to nurture and bequeath democracy to posterity; the PDP has largely met
this. Our founding fathers also intended that the PDP would serve as a bulwark
against military adventurism and rebuild the fabric of the civil society. This
has also been achieved. It suffices that the democratic credentials of our
great Party have engendered a new orientation in the nation’s armed forces,
enabling Nigeria to enjoy for the first time in her history, over a decade of
uninterrupted democracy.

Laying a new, solid foundation for socio-economic prosperity
was also part of and this, we have also largely achieved. Even though there is
still room for improvement, we can safely state with verifiable facts that the
PDP has achieved quite a lot in its fourteen years of existence.

Today, the PDP is the major catalyst for the unity of
Nigeria through its strong leadership and all embracing membership whose
centripetal pull has succeeded in relegating the barriers of race, religion and
ideological persuasions. We all know that these are at the core of issues that
have kept Nigeria down since independence. There is no gainsaying that the PDP
is the only truly national political party in Nigeria. It is the only political
party not owned by any individual or group or associated with any tribal or
religious group. It is a melting pot that has given adequate expression to the
aspirations of all Nigerians irrespective of class, tribe or religion.

The founding manifesto of the PDP is also elaborate on the
resolve and determination of the Party to institute a legacy of credible polls
that has eluded the nation for ages, knowing that free and fair election is
fundamental to democracy. Within fourteen years, the nation has gradually
advanced to a stage where free and fair election is taken as guaranteed. The
2011 presidential election, in which President Goodluck Jonathan contested as
an incumbent was adjudged locally and internationally as free, fair and most
credible in the nation’s recent history. The number of litigations attendant
upon the 2011 general elections was drastically reduced as a consequence of its
credible nature. The gains of that successful election reflected in the
subsequent governorship elections in Kogi, Adamawa, Sokoto, Cross River,
Bayelsa, Kebbi and Edo States.

The strengthening of the institutions of democracy is also
another area that the PDP has achieved quite a lot in the last fourteen years.
The separation of powers among the executive, legislature and the judiciary has
grown over the years under the PDP leadership. The three arms of government
especially at the centre currently operate with least interference, having
mastered the institutional checks and balances among them. This maturity
developed over the years is instrumental in eliminating the friction that
marked the executive — legislature relationship in the first five years of the
dispensation. The Independent National Electoral Commission has through reforms
and amendments of relevant portions of the Electoral Acts by the National
Assembly been strengthened to properly play its role as an unbiased electoral
umpire.

In the same vein, rule of law which became a cardinal
article of governance under late President Yar’Adua has remained same under
President Jonathan while there is also the freedom of information Act which
bolsters in no small measure, transparency and accountability without which
good governance cannot be.

Economically, the PDP leadership has fast-tracked Nigeria
into the digital world of information and communication technology. The mobile
telecom market in Nigeria which started in 2001 is rated as the fastest growing
in the world. The PDP government indeed provided the enabling environment and
gave the push for investments in this sector to thrive.

Our Party has also steadied the ship of the Nigerian economy
which was hitherto threatened by activities of militants in the Niger Delta
region. Through a well articulated amnesty programme, aggrieved insurgents have
been re-integrated into the Nigerian society and now productively engaged in
fruitful activities.

Similarly, the Party has also embarked on a massive
revamping of infrastructures with improvement in various sectors. The massive
investment in the railways is gradually yielding dividends as intra and
intercity rail transport has commenced in some major cities in the country.
Thousands of kilometres of roads, which were hitherto death-traps are
witnessing massive rehabilitation while some are completed. The Benin-Lagos
road, Onitsha-Owerri Road, the East-West road, Kano-Maiduguri Road among others
are examples of previously abandoned projects which have received needed
attention under the PDP-led Federal Government.

The dredging of River Niger to create a vibrant inland water
ways system and the creation of River Ports and inland container depots are one
of the most innovative and revolutionary measures ever undertaken in Nigeria’s
history.

One of the biggest impediments to the timely delivery of
goods and services in Nigeria was congestion at the ports, but the PDP Federal
Government has effectively tackled this with our ports now offering 24 hour
service and goods cleared in record time.

Besides, our government recognises that no meaningful
development can be achieved without strong financial institutions in place. The
bank reforms instituted across the years by the PDP led Federal Government did
not only strengthen the banks but ensured they withstood the economic meltdown
that pulled down financial institutions across the globe.

The bottom line is that creating a vibrant private sector
driven economy is a principal economic policy of the PDP. This is behind the
privatisation programme of the government which has so far achieved moderate
degree of success. Under the PDP government, the private sector has been on the
rise, contributing millions of jobs and the overall Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
of the country which today stands at over $500 billion from $170 billion in
2005.”

Further more, accountability and probity in public life is a
vexed issue but the PDP led government over the years has taken the bull by the
horn and created two anti- corruption institutions in EFCC and ICPC. The
effectiveness of these agencies is evident in the various trials and
convictions where even high ranking members of the PDP who were found wanting
were not spared.

Similarly, for the first time in decades, the PDP led
government instituted civil service reforms to create efficiency in the
nation’s workforce. The Party went a step further to create a national minimum
wage which stands today at 18,000 naira.

The reforms in the power sector have also achieved a remarkable
improvement in the generation and distribution of electricity round the nation.
Massive investments into the sector have kept the hope of realising 15,000
megawatts by 2015 intact.

Ladies and gentlemen, having taken a deep look at the
compass of time. From August 31,1998 when the PDP was formally launched: our
emergence as a formidable, pan Nigerian, and issue based political party: the
course of our fourteen year history as the custodian of the mandate of the
people, our consistency in upholding the visions of our founding fathers: our
level of success in service to the people, especially in jealously guiding the
indivisibility of Nigeria, we wish to give a resounding ovation to the founding
fathers of the PDP, our successive leaders and members and to the entire people
of Nigeria for their different heroic roles in the cause of the party and the
nation. We have indeed covered a long stretch of mileage in translating our
vision into material benefits for the people.We are however not unmindful of the
fact that a lot still needs to be done to re-occupy our deserved place in the
global community.

The National Working Committee(NWC) has decided that our
members throughout the Federation and in the Diaspora should use the occasion
of this year’s anniversary to soberly reflect on the values of justice, unity
and progress which is the motto of our great party. We wish to add that the
significance of our motto has remained critically essential in navigating
through the current challenging trajectory of our national history.

Our anniversary should be an occasion for us to celebrate
really but we have chosen to mark it this year without pomp. This is in line
with our determination to devote more attention to accelerating an all front
delivery of our electoral promises to Nigerians and in deference to the mood of
the nation.

On behalf of the National Executive Committee of our great
Party, our National Chairman , Dr. Bamanga Tukur wishes to commend Nigerians
for their support over the years. We wish to promise once again that the PDP
will continue to make the welfare of the people a priority. We shall do more
than we have done in the last fourteen years and urge that we all keep hope
alive.

We wish to also commend the President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan
for epitomising the party’s new spirit and for his determination to transform
Nigeria. We pay our tribute also to the PDP led National Assembly, our State
Governors and elected and appointed members of our Party at different levels
and urge them to continue to lift the banner of the PDP higher.

I thank you all and may Almighty God continue to bless our
great Party and our dear nation.

Source: The Tides Online

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