Governor of Enugu State and Leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the South East, Dr. Peter Mbah, has called party leaders and faithful in the region to rise to the task of recovering its lost ground and rebuilding the PDP to its preeminent position of the years past.

He stressed the need to rejig the party’s financial, administrative, and operational strategies, expressing a strong conviction that the party would rise again.

Mbah spoke during the zonal meeting of the party in Enugu on Monday.

“As the National Vice Chairman South East rightly observed, we have shed a lot of weight. Today, when you look at other parties, whether it is Labour Party (LP), whether it is All Progressives Congress (APC), and whether it is the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), and so on, you are actually talking about PDP members.

“But providence has placed a lot on us in the history of the PDP that we now have to steer the affairs of the party and it back to its former glory, to that preeminent position we have always held in the historical and political developments of this country. And in doing that, we have a couple of areas we have to look into, such as financial, administrative, and operational strategies to bring us back to preeminence. 

“So, it is time for us to begin to craft a strategy on how we can get back to that pole position that we had always occupied. It means we have to first of all consolidate our support base as a party, and go on to now reach out to our brothers and sisters, who may have felt aggrieved for one reason or the other and left the party to see how we can bring them back”.

Earlier in his welcome remark, the National Vice Chairman of the Party, South East, Chief Ali Odefa, also called on party faithful and leaders in the region to brace up for the challenge engendering the resurgence of the party in the South East and nationally.

“I would implore all of us to know that the fortunes of the party in the last one year have dwindled so badly and the onus is on all of us, whatever efforts we can put in to make sure that we redeem the past glory of the party, so that we can return the party to its enviable heights the way it used to be in the South East.

“Some years back, PDP used to have five governors in the South East. It reduced to four. It reduced to three. One ran away. It remained two; and after the last election, we only have one seated with us here. I think this one is a cat with 32 lives.

“But by the grace of God, some of our candidates in other states are in the courts. So, it is our prayers that the one we already have will be retained and the ones that are pursuing their cases in court will win. We must do everything to get our party back on the track”, Odefa said.

Meanwhile, the Chairman, Board of Trustees (BOT) of the party and former President of the Senate, Senator Adolphus Wabara, has assured that the party would bounce back in the region, given the leadership qualities Governor Mbah.

He stressed that “nothing will happen to the PDP”.

“Before you know it, all these people will come back because this is their home. So, I do not want us to be discouraged. Let us continue to have hope and belief in the PDP”, he concluded.

The meeting was attended by PDP leaders of South East extraction, including the Deputy Governor of Enugu State, Barr. Ifeanyi Ossai, former governors of Imo State Chief Achike Udenwa and Hon. Emeka Ihedioha; former governor of Ebonyi State, Dr Sam Egwu; Zonal Woman Leader, Barr. Ifeyinwa Morah, as well state party chairmen, including Hon. Augustine Nnamani of Enugu State.