Date: 2018-03-03

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara says it has adopted what it called 'retail politics' to garner votes during 2019 general elections in the state.

Akogun Oyedepo, PDP chairman in the state made this known in Ilorin on Friday while inaugurating 25 committees saddled with various responsibilities to make the party stronger for the general elections.

Oyedepo said the party was no longer interested in what he called wholesale politics, but retail politics by breaking members into many committees for specific assignment.

"We have, therefore, with the belief of using abundant talents in our midst, decided to break ourselves into different relevant committees where members can seriously work to uplift our party,"he said.

According to him, the significance of the inauguration was to envision members about new focus and agenda of rebranded PDP.

Oyedepo said that his vision of what PDP in Kwara State should be can only be achieved if people share the vision and run with it.

"Wonders cannot be done alone, especially in an organisation like a political party; vision has no meaning if it has no adherents that tenaciously believe in it.

"If we do not harness and cultivate the use of men and women of substance, knowledge, wisdom and integrity, developments in our party will not only be stagnant, we even run the risk and danger of total failure.

"We are moving towards 2019 which is a year of destiny for the people of Kwara State. In a situation like this, all hands must be on deck.

"The whole idea behind breaking members into many committees for some assignments is the true meaning of retail politics, to allow our members to be on the field and canvass for our party.

"Our party is no more interested in politics of State or National headquarters.

“When we break big assignments into small bits, where you do your bit, to be joined with small bits done by others; we retail the politics.

"When we believe that power should be built from the bottom up and make local government or ward level to be true power base; it is retail politics.

"When we build a formidable structure of the party, we are establishing a party that can win elections.

"It is better to build a party as an institution than to build personality that we shall turn to political idols.

"We are, therefore, moving away from the traditional perception of politics of worshipping personalities rather than the institution of the party under which platform ambitions can be ventilated.

"Person will die; institution, if well-grounded shall outlive the founders. That is our aspiration for PDP Kwara," Oyedepo added.

Oyedepo said that the National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, had decentralized powers to zones, states, senatorial districts, local governments and wards.

He, therefore, reminded members that with the new crop of national leadership of the party, the era of impunity was over.

According to him, PDP agenda in Kwara was to follow that of the National leader to rebuild, reposition the party and regain power in 2019.

"We can only build the structure of the party through sacrifice of our talent, energy, knowledge, financial resources and other necessary things," he said.

The committees were Planning, Research and Statistics, Mobilization, Media and publicity and Election and Electoral matters.

Others are Security, Disciplinary, Diaspora, Welfare, Legal, Women Mobilisation, Men Mobilisation, Reconciliation, Students, Youths, Artisans, Agric and Tourism.

The rest were Traditional council, Fund raising, Finance, Elders forum, Founding fathers, Disciplinary, Pensioners, Non indigenes and Physically Challenged.