The national leadership of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has begged Nigerians to come and join the party.
The party, which had been governing the country since 1999, handed over to the All Progressives Congress on May 29, 2015 following its shocking defeat at the presidential poll on March 28, this year.
The opposition party said all those who were interested in joining were free to do so without any condition, adding that both the new and old members would be treated equally.
The Acting National Chairman of the party, Prince Uche Secondus, made the plea in Abuja on Wednesday.
He spoke during the inauguration of the PDP e-Membership Registration Committee, headed by Chief Raymond Dokpesi.
Secondus said with the idea of electronic registration becoming a reality, godfatherism would soon become a thing of the past.
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.
“In furtherance to this desire, we had refuted a constitutional amendment as reflected in section 8(11) of the PDP constitution and in August 2010, the National Executive Committee approved the policy.
“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”.
Secondus 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 said everybody agreed that this solution was imperative for any organisation that wants to run efficiently in an 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 the committee has what he described as onerous task of marketing the programme to ensure members that the exercise would be transparent and that the challenges that might arise in the course of the exercise would be surmounted within the available time.
He further urged the committee to 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 said.
In his remarks, Dokpesi 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, Sen. Walid Jibril as secretary, include Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State, Governor Ibrahim Dankawambo of Gombe State and Sen. Godswill Akpabio as members.
Support InfoStride News' Credible Journalism: Only credible journalism can guarantee a fair, accountable and transparent society, including democracy and government. It involves a lot of efforts and money. We need your support. Click here to Donate