Main opposition party in the country, Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) is considering a change of name ahead of the 2019 general elections.
National Daily gathered that those pushing for a new nomenclature argued that the party has been suffering from the corruption stigma placed on it.
A highly placed in the party told National Daily that the move was pre-emptive to prevent the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) from using the corruption argument against it during campaigns.
PDP, which planned to announce the decision to change its name, had also pencilled down Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu as the one to head a committee that would walk the party through the procedure.
Many of the party’s stalwarts have been worried by how the ruling APC had successfully branded the party as corrupt in the eyes of Nigerians and admitted that, a rebranding was imperative to mount a successful challenge in 2019.
Recall that the party had suffered a string of losses in the last four governorship elections – Edo, Ondo, Anambra and Ekiti.
Though, details of their discussion were not made public, many in PDP believed that with such sessions, the chances of bringing Saraki back to the PDP could be hampered.
The opposition party had long mooted the idea of name change, but had slowed down on the decision because a majority of its members were not disposed to it, and those who wanted it could not convince the others.
Besides, it was thought that even though the party had switched positions and had become an opposition party, PDP was still the only party with membership in the remotest parts of the country, and the name resonated with a majority of its members and admirers, particularly among the teeming illiterate populations.