by Ranti Joseph

More light has been thrown into widespread speculations on why the ruling Peoples Democratic Party lost at the centre and in several states of the federation.

The Governor of Delta State, Emmanuel Uduaghan, has said that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lost its prominence at the centre was because of neglect by some members of the party.

Uduaghan, who spoke on Channels Television’s political program, Politics Today, said some persons within the party believed that the Governors’ Forum was becoming too powerful and the then Chairman of the party did not help matters as he acted like a CEO writing queries to governors.

The crisis generated by this, as well as the impunity in the party caused the departure of some of the governors.

He said that the PDP was the greater loser in the crisis that rocked the Governors’ Forum as it led to their 2015 election losses. “The party did not recover from the loss of those five governors.”

He added that performance was not an issue for the party and they did not lose because they failed to perform.

Uduaghan also blamed the lack of fairness during the party’s primaries as another major factor that led to their losses during the just concluded elections.

He explained that the stifling of internal democracy which denied members of the party their rights to vie for elective positions led to the emergence of unpopular candidates who flew the flag of the PDP at different levels across the country.

Uduaghan, who admitted to being aggrieved at some point due to his failure to secure the PDP’s senatorial ticket, said he remained in the party because he did not believe in decamping, rather he was of the opinion that the party needs to be rebuilt and he has a role to play in the process.

He also expressed his expectations of the incoming government of Buhari but advised that the APC-led Federal Government must apply a style of leadership that would unite all Nigerians irrespective of the voting pattern during the 2015 polls.

Janeth J