The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara has instituted a Stakeholders' Forum and constituted 10 committees as part of efforts to reposition the party.

The Chairman of the party in the state, Akogun Oyedepo inaugurated the forum and the committees on Thursday at the party secretariat, Ilorin. He said that the move was also to strengthen the party ahead of the local councils election in the state and bye- election in Oke Ero constituency.

Oyedepo explained that the stakeholders forum was made up of one representative from each of the 193 electoral wards in the state. "Stakeholders' Forum is the creation of the executive of the party as an instrument of providing for all inclusive administration in our party.

"There are so many men and women of wisdom outside the executive that we can leverage upon to provide for a strong party that can win elections," he added. Oyedepo, who heads the forum, said those selected were die-hards of the party always ready to defend its interest.

"If you are not important to your people in your different domains, you will not be here as member of the forum," Oyedepo stressed. The chairman said the forum would meet periodically and serve as a bridge between the executives and members of the party in the state.

According to him, members of the party have always accused the leadership of not carrying them along in decision making and implementation. "This Forum will not only bridge that gap, it will, as earlier said, make such individuals relevant in the scheme of things in the party. "This is also a forum where the policies of the party will be rigorously explained and further examined before implementation.

"In that case, nobody will say critical people in the party are not involved in the administration of the party." The chairman appealed to all party members to pay their annual dues of N600 as stipulated in section 51(2) of PDP constitution.

Oyedepo also called on members to generously donate to the party's media account to effectively fund its publicity, sensitisation and mobilisation programmes.

He attributed PDP's woeful performance in the last general elections to late preparations for the race. "The forthcoming local government election has to be approached like running a marathon race and not 100 meter dash which the PDP is known for.

"Gone were the days in the party, at least in Kwara, when money bags or political gladiators will rush home and fight for party's flags during elections. "This time around, we want everybody to be fully involved and committed, as record of performance will henceforth be used to earn patronage in the party", Oyedepo said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the committees inaugurated include: Media and Publicity, Security, Fund raising, Strategy, Legal, Mobilisation, Discipline, Local Government, Planning and Finance.