The PDP acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, stated this while inaugurating the Chief Emmanuel Ogidi-led PDP South-South Zonal Caretaker Committee at the party’s national headquarters in Abuja.

“I want to use this opportunity to tell us that there was no election in the south south as far as this party is concerned.

“I have to make this clear because the tenure of the zonal committee has expired and we still have a few weeks or a month or so to hold the congresses, hence the necessity for this caretaker committee.”

Danmagum advised the zonal caretaker committee members not to be biased or take sides with any member.

He urged them to be diligent in the execution of their duties and come up with an all-inclusive election for new executive committee of the zone.

“ I have no doubt that you will be diligent in your responsibility and usher in the new, soon-to-be-elected executive committee of the zone,’’ he said.

Damagum described PDP as a party to beat, urging its leaders not to be afraid of constructively engaging the ruing party.

“Nobody is going to change your destiny for you other than yourself. So please, let’s be up and doing. Don’t fear anyone, Nigeria belongs to all of us. There’s nobody who is a better Nigerian than you are.

“It’s all an opportunity and if you put your acts together, the path is very bright, we will reach the destination,’ Damagun said.

In his remarks, Gov. Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta, represented by his Deputy, Monday Onyeme, also tasked the committee to discharge its duties in a manner that would further unite the party in the zone.

“It is my prayer that this new caretaker committee will discharge its duties very favorably to the extent that our great party will become more united and continue to win elections in the south-south just as we used to.

“It is my belief and that come 2027, all the six states of the south-south will belong to PDP,’’ Oborevwori said.

The Chairman, PDP Board of Trustees (BOT) Sen. Adolphus Wabara said inauguration of the caretaker committee was not about the 2027 general elections but to get PDP right.

“It’s about PDP as a platform. If we get it right, 2027 is just for us to pick,’ he said.

The Senate Minority Leader, Abba Moro, described the inauguration as inspiring and a signal that the PDP is on the trajectory of regaining its winning ways.

Moro assured the party of the continued support of PDP lawmakers in the national assembly.

The chairman of the caretaker committee, however, pledged that the members would discharge their responsibility passionately with all fairness, saying “we will give everyone equal opportunity.

“I want to give thanks to God Almighty for this opportunity to serve and also to the National Working Committee for approving us.

“I want to assure you that by the grace of God, we will discharge our duties dispassionately to the glory of God.

I want to thank everybody present. I will assure you that what is expected of us, we are going to do it,’’ he said.(NAN)

The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, made this known in a statement issued on Thursday in Abuja.

Ifoh quoted the party’s National Chairman, Julius Abure, as saying after the meeting of the National Working Committee (NWC) that LP congresses across the wards, local governments and states would hold between June and July.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the validation exercise was supposed to have ended on Jan. 31.

NAN also reports that the ward congresses were supposed to have been held between February and March.

The party had earlier launched an online membership registration and validation application, as part of efforts to exceed a membership size of 20 million before the 2027 general elections.

Abure also pledged to ensure a free, fair and credible exercise during the forthcoming governorship primaries in Anambra.

According to him, Nigeria will get better only when a fair and honest leadership recruitment process is enthroned.

Abure also dismissed the allegation that the Labour Party was working for another political party, saying that the party had grown to be one of the largest political parties in the country.

“I want to reassure our members in Anambra State that as it is usual with our party, our primaries and congresses will be free, fair and credible.

“It has been our ideology and philosophy in this party that we must do things differently because you can’t adopt a similar approach and expect a different result.

” If you must get a different result, it means your approach must be different. And therefore, for us in Labour Party, it is our desire to do things differently.

“This is because we believe that it is only where there is internal party democracy, where there is competition, where there is no godfatherism, that the best of the bests can emerge from such process.

“And we believe that when you have the best emerging from political parties, that is when you will have the best hands that will handle the affairs of the country.

“I believe we have not had our best to handle the affairs of the country and that is why we have the challenges in governance today in Nigeria,” he said (NAN)