Fresh pressure mounts on PDP to change name

Fresh pressure is being mounted on the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party on the need to change the name of the party in order to win the 2023 presidential election, Punch has learnt.

The pressure is said to be spearheaded by some members of the former ruling party who believe that the party must change its name in order to drop what they referred to as its moral burden.

A similar pressure was mounted on the party before 2015, but was resisted by the party’s caucuses, which argued then that the period for the agitation was too short for it to be considered.

Succumbing to the pressure then was also seen as agreeing with those accusing the party of endorsing corruption which some of its members were being accused of by the All Progressives Congress.

A former Presidential spokesman, Dr Doyin Okupe, who is spearheading the name change campaign, told one of Punch correspondents that the PDP should consider the option if it plans to win the 2023 presidential election.

He said he had started mobilising members of the party with the aim of putting pressure on its leadership to agree with the position.

– Punch