Peoples Democratic Party, PDP Delta North stakeholders have set down preliminary guidelines in anticipation of when the Delta State Independent Electoral Commission (DSIEC) will officially release the timetable for the next Local Government Council polls in the State, even as the tenure of the present Local Government Councils leadership comes to an end on Friday, March 8, 2024.
Addressing the stakeholders, at a well attended meeting in Asaba, the Delta North PDP Chairman, Elder Moses Iduh affirmed that the party has carefully and painstakingly selected set up a college of leaders, carefully and painstakingly selected from each of the nine Local Government Areas in Delta North, with the mandate to perform specific strategic duties in the respective LGAs, going forward.
They are expected to provide dispassionate leadership and assist the LGA Chairmen to ensure the smooth running of the party at the wards and LGAs, unite members of the party, Iduh said, adding that their mandate also included identifying issues that are capable of affecting the party negatively and resolving them in addition to making concerted efforts to bring back former party members who strayed out of the party for one reason or the other.
Speaking further Elder Moses Iduh said that the college of leaders would also ensure that non indigenes, religious, support groups, and youths (including girls) between the ages of 16 and 30, and women are carried along in party activities, especially in the area of empowerment, even as he added that efforts should be made to accommodate non indigenes who are party faithful in the ward executive during the congresses, with a view to giving them a sense of belonging.
The Delta North PDP Chairman used the platform of the Stakeholders meeting to thank the outgoing Local Government Council Chairmen in the zone for their sterling performance during their just concluded tenure, noting that most of them performed very well and judiciously utilized the allocations in serving the people, especially in the area of execution of people-oriented projects and making the grassroots community feel the impact of governance.
With particular reference to the Local Government polls which is expected to hold in a few months time, when a new set of Council Chairmen and Councillors would be elected, Elder Iduh strongly advised that where a zoning or rotational arrangement is in place, such arrangement should be respected by all, adding that care should be taken to ensure that only party faithful who have demonstrated capacity, competence, election winning streak and grassroots based are elected.
He then stressed that that majority of the councillorship candidates should be youths (including girls), who play their politics at the grassroots and while sounding a note of warning that gone are the days when only family members, wards and cronies were foisted on the people during nomination of councillorship candidates, charged that the selection should be done dispassionately, with focus on people who have served the party diligently and faithfully over the years.
“We should bear in mind that elections in Nigeria have changed. It is no longer business as usual. If we get the forthcoming council primaries and elections right, 2027 elections will be seamless for us”, he declared.
Elder Moses Iduh concluded by charging the Delta North leaders and stakeholders to cultivate the spirit of forgiveness, tolerance and brotherliness, adding that very soon, the blueprint for galvanizing members and reinventing the party in Delta North through increased political activities and rallies across the senatorial district would be unveiled.