PDP’S- ALI MODU SHERIFF ADVISED TO BE BOLD, TRANSPARENT

Lagos – Two PDP lawmakers in the Lagos State House of Assembly on Friday advised Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff, the new National Chairman of the party, to embrace transparency and inclusive leadership. The lawmakers, Mr Victor Akande (PDP-Ojo I) and Mr Olushola Sokunle (PDP-Oshodi-Isolo I), spoke in Lagos. They said that the PDP, which is now in opposition at the federal level, could return to Aso Rock in 2019 if there was transparency. According to them, if all differences are settled, the party remains the largest in Nigeria. Akande said that the new chairman needed to learn from the lessons of the past and position the party to regain lost grounds. “We should learn from our congresses; when we fight ourselves in congress and continue to fight before and after election, we cannot but be defeated. “The new leader should align aggrieved members of the party and ensure that the state machinery is given to people who pull crowd. “Alhaji Sheriff should bring all to a round table talk and find solution to the problem that brought us where we are now,’’ he said. The lawmaker, who urged the party to get its house in order, said that the plan of the ruling All Progressives Party was to ensure PDP went into extinction. Akande condemned the decamping of some former PDP leaders to APC, saying there was hope that the party would reclaim power in 2019. His counterpart, Sokunle, urged the new party chairman to be courageous. “I will want the new chairman to embrace transparency and be courageous to reposition the party. “Efforts must be made to ensure that round pegs are put in round holes; we must learn,’’ he said. Sokunle said that if things are done the right way, the party can still rise again. The former Borno State governor was on Tuesday appointed the party’s new national chairman by the National Executive Council (NEC) of the party.