Former senator Ben Murray-Bruce has attributed the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) defeat in the 2015 general election to poor political decisions and the failure of key advisers to address growing discontent within the party.
Speaking on the events that preceded the 2015 polls, Murray-Bruce said repeated warnings over the dissatisfaction of former Rivers State governor Rotimi Amaechi and five other PDP governors were ignored by those close to then-President Goodluck Jonathan. According to him, the concerns raised by party leaders were not treated with the urgency they deserved, allowing the crisis to deepen.
He recalled that Amaechi had informed him that he and several governors were considering leaving the PDP unless efforts were made to resolve the internal disagreements. However, Murray-Bruce said some presidential aides dismissed the matter, believing the governors’ exit would have little political consequence.
The former lawmaker argued that the failure to engage the aggrieved governors weakened the PDP ahead of the 2015 election, stressing that political leaders must always pay attention to internal grievances before they escalate into major crises.
