Dare Babalola
The National Coordinator of the Alternative Movement, Segun Showunmi, has stated that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is in hot soup following the recent defections of high-profile members, which have shaken the opposition party.
The PDP is grappling with a severe crisis, marked by the defection of several prominent members, including Governors Peter Mbah of Enugu State and Douye Diri of Bayelsa State. This exodus underscores the PDP’s deepening internal conflicts and leadership disputes.
The chieftain of the PDP, who spoke EXCLUSIVELY to NEWSTELLERS on Thursday, blamed the party for its turmoil, stressing that leaders of the party failed to reform it despite that it is due for it.
“The Peoples Democratic Party is in soup. Very hot soup, it is in a situation you can call ‘dead-horse’ scenario,” Sowunmi declared.
He continued, “There is a way out but it is not as easy as it would have been if they had not put themselves in unnecessary legal contractions, a desire to win alone.
“When you have a political party that is due for a reform over many years and they choose not to reform because they think status quo is convenient, there comes a time when they would have exhausted all the possibilities in the status quo and they will have to enough time to reform for the next election. I’m even more concerned about the ability to survive, not win.
Sowunmi, however, declined sharing the way out of the crisis in public saying, “It would be ridiculous to display the way out in public when those trying to kill us have not departed from their desire to destroy us completely.”
The politician noted that the troubles of the former ruling party cannot be solely attributed to Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar or the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.
He stated that with a history dated back to 1998, the party’s problems run deeper, adding that the PDP has faced various challenges, including internal conflicts and poor decision-making.
Instead of blaming others, the convener of The Alternative Movement, advised the party to reflect on its own actions and decisions that have led to its current state.
He said, “Atiku and Wike may have contributed one or two to the downfall of the PDP but it is not the major problem of the party.
“A political party that was founded in 1998 cannot reduce its troubles to one or two people. Firstly, was Wike the problem in 2011 when we saw the first signs that the party’s back line was not well managed? Then in 2015, was Wike the one who decided that they should destroy and make the party lose rather than stand by it?
“In 2019, some of the excesses of Wike he started showing but the party managed itself till 2023. In 2023, shall you beat a human and they say you want to be responsible for how he reacts? Every man accepts that when you do things, you have to expect some reactions and when those reactions come, you cannot blame the person reacting.”
He also dismissed attributing the crisis in PDP to President Bola Tinubu saying, “What has the president got to do with governors leaving? They should resolve their issues, Tinubu can’t be blamed for it. PDP is always looking for who to blame. Instead of getting the systematic analysis of the situation and finding a solution, they are always looking for who to blame. They blame everybody but themselves. A party of over 20 years should not be happy to be blaming other people other than itself.”
