PDP behind survival of Nigeria’s democracy – Makarfi says as party clocks 19

National Chairman of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Ahmed Makarfi, has attributed Nigeria’s survival to the sacrifices and investments made by the founding fathers of the party.

Makarfi, in a statement issued by Chinwe Nnorom, Head of Publicity Division on behalf of the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Dayo Adeyeye, stated this while congratulating members and supporters of the party across the globe on the occasion of the 19th Anniversary of the PDP.

The statement reads: “The PDP formally came into being on the 31st of August, 1998 and has since then, remained the only Viable, Prosperous, Strongest and Most Visionary Political Party in Nigeria.
“We commend the Efforts of our founding fathers that dared the Military Establishment at that time to usher in a history of reformation and innovation in the Country’s political landscape by returning Nigeria to the path of Civil Rule. We pledge to continue to uphold all their virtues and aspirations as we work to rebuild, reconcile and reposition the PDP for greater heights.
“Nigeria as a Country is today celebrating close to two decades of uninterrupted civilian rule because of the Sacrifices and Investments made by the Founding Fathers of the PDP. We are proud of them and their legacies will be immortalized in the anal of Nigerian history.
“We also thank the people of Nigeria for the overwhelming support and confidence reposed on us in our sixteen years of administration. As a human organization, there might have been some issues or areas we could not cover when we were governing. We promise to make amends as when given the opportunity again in 2019.
“We are optimistic that Nigerians have not forgotten the enormous infrastructural developments, policies and programmes developed by the PDP Administrations in contrast to the current APC led-Government.
“The PDP no doubt, initiated several reforms that transformed the Country from the decay of long years of military dictatorship/failed civilian administration and never resorted to self pity, blames and propaganda as it’s seen today.
“For the record, in 1999 the Image of Nigeria internationally was in a deplorable state with very poor human rights records.The PDP took conscious steps to change that perception and within a very short period, it restored the Country to its pride of place among the comity of nations. We promise to do it again come 2019.
“History has not forgotten how the Former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo on the platform of the PDP worked diligently with other western powers to settle all our foreign debts accumulated by the Military thereby detached Nigeria’s economy from the burden of foreign debts.
“Similarly, the PDP Administration established two major anti-corruption agencies, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to curb the Menace of corruption in the Country. These efforts reduced corrupt practices and further increased the confidence of foreign investors that resulted in huge investment inflows into the Country.
“The APC-led Government of today has destroyed the independence of these agencies with their selective approach of using ‘deodorants’ when APC members are involved and ‘insecticides’ when it concerns the PDP members and other Nigerians. This is as stated by key members of the APC Government.
“We want to note that Nigeria’s unity remains the core principle of our founding fathers and throughout the sixteen years of PDP Government, we took deliberate actions to sustain and maintain this principle by building bridges across the Nation and in the spirit of federal character, introduced zoning into the Constitution of our Party that allows power sharing and rotation.

“The same cannot be said of the APC-led Administration given its lopsided appointments which have aggravated desires for self-determination and secession by some sections of the Country. Of course we are not in support of such agitations.
“Let us use this medium to further highlight some of the glaring achievements during our administration. We initiated series of reforms in Information Technology (ICT) with the launch of Nicomsat1 in 2007, the First Nigeria Communication Satellite into Orbit; and in 2001, the Federal Government of Nigeria also introduced the Global System of Mobile Communication (GSM) after deregulating the Telecommunication Industry. The GSM Market is today contributing over 9.8% of the Nigeria’s GDP and has employed millions of Nigerians.
“As we celebrate the Nineteen Years of the PDP today, we are proud of the huge achievements of successive PDP administrations which are too numerous to mention.
“We therefore call on all our members, supporters and indeed all Nigerians to continue believing in the PDP. It is no longer news that the two and half years of the APC Government has put our Country in deplorable and comatose condition. We wish to further emphasize that the PDP remains the Only tried, tested and reliable Party in Nigeria.
“Finally, we thank the Judiciary for restoring democracy in Nigeria by the Supreme Court Judgment of July 12, 2017 that affirmed the Decision of the May 21st 2016 National Convention of the PDP.
“We urge all our Party stakeholders nationwide to use the Occasion of this Anniversary to close ranks and continue working together for the Unity and Peaceful co-existence of all Nigerians.”