Five months after losing power to the All Progressives
Congress, the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic
Party on Wednesday begged Nigerians to join the opposition
party.

The party said Nigerians interested in the PDP were free to do
so without any condition.

It said that both the new and the old members would be treated
equally.

The Acting National Chairman of the party, Prince Uche
Secondus, stated this in Abuja on Wednesday.
He spoke during the inauguration of the PDP e-Membership
Registration Committee.

The committee is headed by Chief Raymond Dokpesi.
Secondus said with the idea of e-registration becoming a
reality, godfatherism would soon become a thing of the past in
the party.

He said, “This occasion is significant to us as a party because it
is a dream come true.

“You will recall that the idea of having an electronic
membership registration for our party has been in the works for
so many years…

“I’m appealing to all Nigerians to come and join us. There is
room for everybody. Journalists here are also free to join us and
become our members.”

He said for the party to succeed in its objective of rebuilding, its
leaders must be courageous enough to implement the e-
membership registration now.

The acting chairman of the party, which ruled Nigeria for 16
years, said that everybody agreed that this solution was
imperative for any organisation that wanted to run efficiently in
the IT-driven world.

He said, “We believe that for us to succeed in our objective of
rebuilding the party, we must be courageous enough to
implement the e-membership registration now.

“Everybody agrees that this solution is imperative for any
organisation that wants to run efficiently in the IT driven world
we find ourselves.
“Also, it is obvious that this is the only thing that would
empower the grassroots and ensure internal democracy in the
operations of the party.”

He said that the committee had what he described as a onerous
task of marketing the programmes of the PDP to ensure
members that the exercise would be transparent.
He added that the committee should work with the aim of
returning the party to the people.

“Look at our slogan, which is ‘Power to the People.’ We are
now returning the party to the people. While the committee will
determine the cost, the duration of this exercise is just six
months,” he added.

Dokpesi, who is the chairman of the committee, promised that
the exercise would be transparent.

Some other members of the committee, which has the Secretary
of the Board of Trustees of the party, Senator Walid Jibril as
secretary include Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State, Governor
Ibrahim Dankawambo of Gombe State and Senator Godswill
Akpabio as members.