Being the Speech by His Excellency Seyi Makinde FNSE, the Executive Governor of Oyo State, at the Inauguration of the PDI Board of Governors and the Unveiling of the PDI Roadmap by the Director General, Dr Edward Adie on Thursday, 7 November 2024 at the NEC Hall, Wadata Plaza, Abuja
What would you want to be remembered for?
This is the question every politician who has had the opportunity to serve at any capacity in our great nation should ask themselves.
Today, with the Inauguration of the PDI Board of Governors and the Unveiling of the PDI Roadmap by the Director General Dr Edward Adie, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is moving a step closer to defining the ideology that the party stands for and cementing what the party as a whole would want to be remembered for.
I want to pause at this juncture to say thank you to our great party and all the stakeholders gathered here today for giving me the opportunity to get not one but two mandates back-to-back under this umbrella. And today, as we unveil the People’s Democratic Institute Roadmap, I again thank you for the honour bestowed me to act Chief Unveiler of the PDI Road Map.
The journey to this day has not been all smooth, but I am thankful that we were able to overcome all the obstacles along the way. I want to specially thank everyone who has put aside grievances and played a role in the re-establishment and revitalisation of the PDI.
Back in the year 2000 when the Peoples Democratic Institute (PDI) was founded by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, this institute and its members served as the intellectual and training arm of of our great party the PDP. It supported PDP’s policymaking and governance initiatives, and served as a platform for strategic insights into national development.
We can then understand why the 16 years of PDP was marked by economic growth. The PDI played a pivotal role in shaping policies during those years which we can rightly refer to as the golden years. The PDI supported reforms in critical sectors like telecommunications, banking, and trade which set Nigeria on the path for sustainable development.
And then 2015 happened.
Due to our loss of the number 1 seat in the 2015 general elections, PDI became largely inactive. We can see how Nigeria’s economy has fared since 2015. Things have simply gone from bad to worse as we were taken from the next level of economic instability to renewed troubles.
As we approach 2027, it is clear that the PDP has to provide real hope for Nigerians by revalitalising the PDI. Our country needs direction. Nigerians are looking up to the PDP to provide the ideological foundation for the Nigeria of their dreams. I believe the PDI will fill this need by serving as a training centre for party members, public servants, and policymakers who are interested in moving democracy forward. The PDI will thus play a pivotal role in strengthening the PDP’s strategic capacity, especially in view of future elections.
I am confident the PDI Board of Governors led by His Excellency Amb. Taofeek Arapaja understand the assignment and will see to the actualisation of the goal of revalitalising the Peoples Democratic Institute.
Our people say when a woman marries two husbands, she is able to testify as to which one treated her better. Nigerians can see the distinction between the economy under our great party the PDP and the All Progressives Congress. The APC has failed Nigerians. It is time for the PDP to reposition itself as the solution. The misgivings Nigerians had back in 2015 that led us down this path of economic tribulations no longer exist. The PDI is the special purpose vehicle that the PDP will use to show that we have the people and the power and rebuild our nation.
Let me use this opportunity to call on all our party faithful and lovers of Nigeria to rally. The unveiling of the PDI Roadmap today provides a new touch for a stronger opposition role. We cannot accomplish this without true reconciliation and unity within our great party the PDP.
In a few days we will be heading to Ondo State, we need true reconciliation and unity to wrestle power from the APC in Ondo State. We know the PDP has the more popular candidate. We also have the support of people. We must work together to ensure that no form of rigging, either institutional or being propagated by the ruling party will succeed. We must go to Ondo as one united party and resist any attempt to truncate the will of the people.
The PDP is the only party in Nigeria that has given the youths the opportunity to be part of political institutions. The PDP is the party of choice for the youths. With the PDI in place, they will be allowed more voice and greater opportunity to create the future that truly belongs to them. As a youth at heart, mind and body, I pledge to continue to support the PDI and other efforts to ensure that PDP takes back power at the centre in 2027.
This unveiling serves as the renewal of the PDP pledge to start planning for governance and set out the blueprint to rebuild our nation. The PDP can and will do everything in its power to rescue Nigeria and provide real hope for the people. If you love Nigeria and democracy, this is the time to join us in designing the roadmap to rebuilding Nigeria.
When the history of Nigeria is written, you and I will be remembered as the people who stood up to say, there is a Nigerian dream. That dream will be shaped by a clear political ideology and the PDP through the PDI will shape that ideology.
Are you ready?
Thank you and God bless you.
Seyi Makinde
7 November 2024