A former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Bayelsa State, Anthony George-Ikoli, on Friday vowed that he would not quit the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

“I have been in PDP since 1999 and this is the second time I am contesting elections under our party’s flag. If I didn’t leave the party then, I don’t think it would be prudent to do so now. I detest the politics of convenience and cross-carpeting although it would seem there are more than enough cogent reasons for many of us to have left but there is still an argument for many of us who choose to stay and help with the rebuilding of the party.

“I personally believe in man’s innate ability to reform and reinvent himself and as such the need to rebuild through service is uppermost in my mind. I may not have succeeded in my bid to become governor but I don’t believe that should rob me of my desire to deliver service to my nation,” he said.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria described politics as a service.

“I’d rather stay and weather the storm in my party than to jump ship just for the sake of jumping ship. After all, who says there are no issues in other parties as well? Aspirants within the APC (All Progressives Congress) are equally in court seeking judicial intervention in their own primaries at well.

“Ultimately, are we here to serve ourselves or are we here to serve the generality of our people? If we are here to serve the generality, does jumping ship serve that purpose? These are the real questions one must answer in the arduous process of decision making.”

George-Ikoli, an aspirant in the recently concluded governorship primary of the PDP in Bayelsa State believes that history is on the side of the party and that the people are not in a hurry to swap PDP for an uncertain opposition party.

“The PDP is a party the people of the South-South and Bayelsa in general have a natural historical affinity for, given the inclusiveness of its politics and the nationalistic outlook of the party and the emotional investment they have in the party.

“Despite the seeming growing influence of the APC in Bayelsa State, I don’t think the people are in a hurry to swap our party for an uncertain opposition party. In 2015, we swapped certainty for uncertainty at the centre and it is clear as day what the results of that experiment have been.”

The member of the PDP National Campaign Councils for Bayelsa and Kogi States spoke to newsmen in Abuja.

“I believe there was a sense of exclusionism within the party from the onset of the entire process as it seemed only a select group within the party had the anointing of the establishment to contest. This I believe had the unintended consequences of degenerating into an ‘us versus them’ contest depending on which side of the divide one stood.”

He argued that the governorship primary caused harm to the party in the state.

“The governor as any normal politician cannot be begrudged. He has his rights to participation and to have a favorite in the race. Although it was important to get his buy-in in some shape or form as the incumbent, winning his heart was not really on the cards especially if his heart was set on another. What was more important was ensuring that a process that was fair and credible was undertaken and the party would still remain together, stronger into the elections. The seeming exclusionist environment didn’t support this,” he said.

The legal practitioner called for fence-mending and reworking of the party.

“I would be lying to myself if I say the primaries were perfect and everything went according to the spirit and letter of our party’s constitution. A clear indication of this is the fact that court actions have been instituted against the process and not a few people came away feeling aggrieved at the way some things were handled. Is this a setback for the party? Only time will tell. There is sufficient need for fence-mending and reworking of the party,” he said.

He proposed an aggressive strategy to assuage frayed nerves, saying: “Let’s face it. The primaries were not perfect and there is still a lot the party has to do to reconcile frayed nerves. If asking that things be done properly is rocking the boat, then count me amongst those rocking the boat. Every boat rocking must have intended positive end and for me, that is strengthening the internal processes of the party.”

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