Ex-President, Ijaw Youth Council, Mr. Udengs Eradiri, says that the only solution to Niger Delta problem is for the people of the region to begin to move from street agitations to taking political powers.

Eradiri stated this on Saturday shortly after submitting his Expression of Interest Form at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) secretariat in Yenagoa, the state capital.

The ex-IYC leader wants to represent Kolokuma/Opokuma/Yenagoa Constituency, Bayelsa, in the House of Representatives.

“So far so good, I have just started the process of taking leadership. As a young man, I wouldn’t have been participating in the struggles for justice in the Niger Delta and then when it is time for leadership, I will be sitting by the corner.

“No, we must do everything possible to be part of those who will make laws.

“Let me inform you that the only solution to Niger Delta problem is when we begin to migrate from street agitation to taking political power; that is the only way we can begin to resolve our problems.

“The laws in Nigeria are not favouring the Niger Delta and until we begin to change the laws and rules, we cannot make progress.

“And I think that having participated as a young person in school as well as the IYC for the agitation for a better Niger Delta, the only way we can make a better society is when we find ourselves in politics and do what is necessary to change the situation,” Eradiri said,

He warned against imposition of candidate during the party’s primaries, urging the party leadership to ensure level-playing field for all the aspirants.

Said Eradiri: “I think that nobody needs to tell the PDP what it has gone through in the past. As a result of not doing the right thing internally as a party, led us to losing an election which has kept a lot of us in the cold.

“Today, we are going in for a new process and we expect that the party will democratise its process because that is the only way a man who loses the election at the primaries will embrace the winner and work with the person.

“But when we start to do all these ‘Oga's anointed candidate’, I begin to ask my people, who is the candidate?

“Even if I will be anointed by the leaders, it is not the leaders that I want to represent; it is the people that we will represent, and that is why we are going to seek the mandate of the people for us to do well.

“Even when we get to the National Assembly it is because we have genuinely got the support of the people.

“For me, the PDP is facing a very serious challenge in Nigeria today. People like us will add value to the PDP. We are going into a very tough battle in Bayelsa and in order for us to win, we must ensure that popular candidates win party primaries because once we impose a candidate it is very clear that we will lose an election.

“This is because this is not like Bayelsa of before where everybody was PDP, we were at the centre, so people can do what they like, right now there is an opposition and the opposition is coming financially, the opposition is coming with power.

“The only way we can win an election in Bayelsa is that our people stand firm the way they stood when the governorship election was done.

“We must note that today we don’t enjoy that solidarity we used to enjoy as a party. We need to do a lot of work to build our party as a very strong and veritable force.

“And in order for us to make progress, we must ensure that popular candidates, candidates who carry the mandate of the people, win the party primaries so we can ultimately win elections for the PDP.”

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