Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo has commented on the current challenges of the ruling and opposition parties in Nigeria.
Prof Yemi Osinbajo
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has declared that the People Democratic Party, PDP, is on death row while his party, the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, is gasping for breath.
The Vice President spoke yesterday at the National Conference on Political Party Supremacy and the Dynamics of Parliamentary Autonomy put together by the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, in Abuja.
Osinbajo was represented by the Special Adviser to the President on Political matters, Babafemi Ojudu. He tasked the institute to go into research and see how Nigeria can begin to build very strong political parties.
The VP said, “Today, we cannot talk of strong parties in Nigeria. The PDP is on death row, the APC is gasping for breath, therefore, it is very important that in building our party we must also look out for leaders that can work assiduously to mobilise people, leaders with conviction, leaders who are independent, leaders who are courageous, leaders who have capacity, and leaders who are disciplinarian.
“If we have these leaders and we appoint them to lead our parties both at national level and at the local level, we can be talking of political parties that will deliver the dividends of democracy to the people.”
Osinbajo added, “Concern should be directed at strengthening the political parties as things stand today our political parties are very weak.”
He also disagreed with former Senate President, Ken Nnamani who stated that people have right under the constitution to move from one political party to the other.
Osinbajo said, “If we keep jumping from one party to the other there will be no way we are going to strengthen the existing ones.
“People should be able to stay in their political party, work at strengthening them and ensure that it even becomes a family culture whereby my son, my grand son, great-grand son will know themselves.”