FORMER Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, Bode George, yesterday, hailed the outcome of the party’s South-West congress, saying there was ‘no winner, no vanquished’.

George, in a statement, commended those who participated in the congress, saying the victory belongs to all party members.

The statement reads: “The South-West Congress held in Oshogbo has injected and infused a new mandate of hope and renewal, not only in the Peoples’ Democratic Party but also across Yorubaland.

“It has affirmed our commitment to a peaceful engagement, even when we disagree among ourselves. It has shown that disputes and differences need not fester into violence and communal disruptions.

“Yes, democracy is about the pitting of ideas, the grappling with conflicting views and interests. But in the end, there is always an arrival at a consensus-building, the initiation of compromise, the settlement of rifts through the pacific largeness of the ballot box.

“Well, the battle has been won and lost. But there is no vanquished and there is no restrictive winner. The victory belongs to all of us.

This is now the moment to mend the broken places, to reconcile and rebuild without any recourse to personal triumphalism. We are all winners.

“A new journey has started. A new hope has risen. The horizon is bright and appealing. Let us all join in steering the ship of state to a safe and strong harbor; steadfast and sure, protected from the tumult of the rough waters.”

Vanguard