Former President Goodluck Jonathan has said that his priority is how to ensure the return of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to power in 2019.
He spoke when he received Chairmanship aspirant Chief Olabode George and his campaign team at his country home in Otuoke, Bayelsa State.
Jonathan took responsibility for the party’s defeat in the 2015 election adding that it was also his responsibility to ensure that the party rose again as a strong political platform to win the next election.
He said: “Whether I like it or not, I must take responsibility for the defeat because I led the party to the election. The only thing that will make me sleep well is to ensure that PDP comes back to power”.
The former president said he was working with other stakeholders to ensure that the party is well organized to achieve this purpose though he preferred to work from the back seat.
He said the party must begin to take the right steps in the right direction to regain the confidence of the electorate adding that the mistakes of the past will not be repeated.
Speaking earlier, George, a former deputy national chairman of PDP who is currently on a nationwide campaign for the chairmanship election in December congratulated the former president on his 60th birthday anniversary while urging him as the leader of the party to ensure that the party will emerge stronger from forthcoming national convention.
George however told the former president that the failure to apply the micro zoning principle to the chairmanship position this time around had caused ripples capable of dividing the party.
He lamented that the party appeared to be drifting as there was no reasonable justification offered by the Senator Makarfi led National Caretaker Committee for jettisoning the principle which was applied to all previous elections to the position.
George also visited Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson at the Governor’s Office and commended him for sustaining the confidence, goodwill and support of the people for the PDP.
Dickson described the December 9 national convention as a window of opportunity to put the PDP house in order and urged all aspirants to elective positions as well as leaders of the party to show tolerance and patriotism and work together to make the party proud.
He said it was important to ensure that the election is free, fair, credible and acceptable.
George was given a rousing reception at the state party secretariat in Yenagoa where he met with party stakeholders and delegates to the convention led by the state chairman, Chief Cleopas Moses.
Others at the meeting were members of the state house of assembly led by the speaker of the house, local government chairmen, among others.
