The Peoples Democratic Party has a decent chance of defeating the All Progressives Congress in the South-East during the general election that will take place in 2019, according to former governor of Imo State Emeka Ihedioha.
The potential to provide the South-East with strong leadership, which he believed was the main demand of the region's citizens, had been abused, he argued, by the APC governments at all levels.
This was said by a PDP chieftain on Friday while he was a guest on a Channels TV programme. He also said that since the APC was not providing the necessary leadership, it would be simple for the PDP to take advantage of any gaps and win back the area in the polls.
“The South-East people are respected across the globe. We have the best professionals in Europe and America, in various spheres of endeavour, be it in medicine, technology, engineering, science and arts, in law.
“In this country, we have shown that we lead the way in commerce. It is important that we are given the right atmosphere, the right climate to excel, to showcase our individual capacities and that is why we look for good governance.
“And that is what the APC has failed to give (South-East) so it is easy to dismiss the APC in the South-East,” Ihedioha said.
On the PDP internal crisis, Ihedioha stated the squabbles will be resolved through that party’s internal mechanism, discussions and consultations.
According to him, the presidential candidate of the party Atiku Abubakar is working to resolve issues and the PDP will give Nigerians the government they desire.
“We will get over this situation. Disagreements are normal in every home, in every family and so deliberate steps were being taken as a party. Calmly, we are resolving issues and by the time we come to the election, PDP will have put all its houses in order.
“I believe discussions and consultations are going on at various levels. I am very certain Knowing Atiku Abubakar very well, our issues will be resolved and the PDP Will give Nigerians the government they desire.”
On the issue of alleged bribery in the party, the former governor said, “I am not a member of the NWC of our party, but the opposition is trying to play up issues. what did you hear about the APC? It is a party that operates like a secret cult. We (PDP) are a democratic party.
“I do not know the facts of this matter but we have internal mechanisms of dealing with issues and of course, if anyone said he was paid and he said he is returning the money for sure they will deal with that, these are not the issues that will give us good governance.”