Indications emerged on Thursday, that the training arm of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Peoples Democratic Institute, PDI, is set to reopen after years of dormancy.
The Institute had remained inactive following the defeat of the party, at the 2015 general elections, which was won by the All Progressive Congress (APC).
The National Publicity Secretary of the Party, Debo Ologunagba, while conducting party officials of Journalists round the facility at the PDI premises, Asokoro , Abuja, said the party’s National Working Committee had renovated the institute and is fully equipped and ready for takeoff.
The Institute was established by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, in 2000, to serve as the party’s intellectual base, where policy directions are fashioned out for good governance and national development.
Ologunagba noted that the Peoples Democratic Institute was instrumental to the achievements of the PDP in the 16 years of its leadership in Nigeria because it provided critical data and information, concerning policy and economic directions for the country.
He explained that the decisions on the reforms in the capital market, trade liberalisation, consolidation in the banking sector, and diversification of the telecommunication sector were achieved with support from the PDI and that Nigeria can only overcome its current socio-economic and political challenges through adequate information and concrete statistics which the PDI is set to provide to the PDP if it forms the next government.
The Acting Director General of PDI, Dan Gwebo said the revamping, the institute in now set to provide training for bureaucrats, administrative officers, public servants and politicians.
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The institute came to public limelight recently, when the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, accused the current National Chairman of the PDP, Iyorchia Ayu of collecting N100m twice for the same purpose while renovating the edifice, which has since been denied by Ayu.
Ayu who swore that he did not collect any money from anyone, however, explained that “ whatever money advanced to the party was declared before the NWC and handed over to the National Treasurer. All our accounts are up to date and we promised to publish the accounts at the end of the year”
“I fully briefed the Board of Trustees (BoT), that one of our governors made a contribution of N100m for the revival of the PDI which was housed in a portacabin and I explained to them that we hired an appropriate place in Asokoro, we have furnished it, renovated it. Three days we went there, inspected it and the NWC decided that before commissioning we should invite the governor in question to come and inspect what we have done with his contribution.
“I am happy that the National Secretary of the party has since written a letter to that governor. I or the NWC has never took any money to carry out that renovation in fact we have not even exhausted that N100 million by one of the governors.
“The consistent attack on my person since the end of the convention on the 31st of May, I have refrained from reacting as the father of the party I felt I should encourage reconciliation.
“But where it touches on my personal integrity or even my family members are brought into play, I appealed to such people to desist from trying to malign my character or bringing my family into party affairs”
