A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Board of Trustees member Chief Bode George has expressed confidence that the PDP will recover and emerge stronger following its upcoming National Executive Committee meeting on May 15.
George made the statement amid growing concerns about mass defections from the party, including high-profile departures in Delta State.
On Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, George expressed alarm about the recent mass evacuation of party members from Delta State, including former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and all 25 local government chairmen.
Despite what some observers have dubbed a “tsunami,” George insisted that the PDP is durable.
“A date has been fixed for our NEC meeting and after that meeting, you will see that this same Iroko tree, the political Iroko tree, will bounce back,” he said.
George called the Delta defections “despicable” and “a lack of respect for a platform that honoured you.”
He voiced dissatisfaction with what he regards as self-serving moves.
When pressed on the significance of high-profile defections, such as that of Okowa, the party’s vice-presidential candidate in the previous general election, George dismissed the issue.
“It is an experience. We have gone through this before. It is not a threat. Because something happened doesn’t mean it is fixated or it is finality,” he assured.
George opined that the All Progressives Congress (APC), despite benefiting from the defections, offers no real alternative.
“There is hunger in the land. There is anger in the land. What do you think they are going to do there? If it is not a personal embellishment, what are they going to do there?” he said.
He recognised that the exodus appears to be harmful, but said that the party has survived comparable events in the past and has always rebounded.
The PDP chieftain also issued a warning about the consequences of electoral manipulation in the future, stating,
“If we lose, we hands off. But if we win and you manipulate the results, you are looking for an unimaginable conflagration. And we cannot afford that.”
In the face of internal fractures and public criticism, the BOT member insisted the PDP is not in its final days.
“We will come up with a suggested solution which will be unanimous. These challenges we are facing now will further strengthen us,” he concluded.
