The Oyo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has finally broken into two factions. One is headed by Governor Seyi Makinde and the other by the leaders and stakeholders across the 33 local governments areas in the state. It is a public knowledge that Oyo PDP has been in crisis for sometime now. Most of the stakeholders and political leaders in the state have been at loggerheads with Gov Seyi Makinde. His sin, according to them, is that he has abandoned the party loyalists who worked for his victory in the last election.
The whole thing, however, took a new turn last Thursday when the agrieaved stakeholders and leaders of the party publicly announced that the party had been divided into two, the PDP and ‘Omi Tuntun’ group. According to them, “there is a need to differentiate between the real PDP members and the GSM’s Omituntun group within the party.
At the Thursday meeting, held at the Jogor Events Centre in Ibadan, leaders, as well as party loyalists who felt cheated and betrayed, were enjoined to go back to work at their various local governments and be getting prepared ahead of the coming Congress of the party. Leaders, representatives of each local government across the geo-political zones in the state were present at the meeting.
Both Hon. Muraina and Hon. Mulikat Akande couldn’t make it to the meeting, but they were duly represented.
Some of the stakeholders and leaders present at the meeting include Chief Nureni Akanbi, Iba Oluyole; a former Deputy Governor in the state, Alhaji Hazeem Gbaolarunmi; Alhaji Bisi Olopoeyan and a former Commissioner for Environment, Alhaji Ismail Aborede.
Others are: Engineer Femi Babalola; Hon Matthew Abioye, former state lawmaker; Alhaji Bola Akinyemi, Elder Mathew Adeoye; Oyo PDP Treasurer, Bibire; State’s Youth Leader; Princess Aderonke Adedoja (Ara Oluyole) and a host of others. Most of the remarks and comments at the meeting were tilted towards one thing; resolution to save the party from what they referred to as mismanagement and egoistic tendencies of the state Governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde. Engr. Femi Babalola, while speaking at the meeting, assured members of the party that their labour would not be in vain. He restated the commitment of the leaders to make sure that they laugh last. According to him, “the present situation that our party finds itself is a familiar terrain and we shall overcome as we always do”.
We are sure and we know about our party, but we don’t know about this present government in the state,” he said. At the end of the meeting, however, a powerful communique was issued by the stakeholders and leaders. It was signed by both Mogaji Nureni Akanbi and the former Deputy Governor, Alhaji Hazeem Gbaolarunmi.
Below is the full text of the communique:
(1) The Stakeholders condemn in the strongest terms the spate of insecurity in the State and call on the State Governor to wake up to its primary responsibility of protecting lives and property of the citizenry.
(2) The PDP stakeholders commiserate with the bereaved families who lost their loved ones in Ogbomosho, Ibarapa and other parts of the State. The body prays that God would comfort them.
(3) The Stakeholders have resolved to save the PDP from mismanagement and egoistic tendencies of the State Governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde.
(4) The Stakeholders frown at the Governor’s attitude of giving Party patronage to non- Party members as against genuine Party members, who laboured to bring the PDP back to power in Oyo State as demonstrated during the last Local Government election where the Governor ‘ donated’ 4 chairmen and vice and 48 Councillorship seats to his friends in ADC.
(5) Today is to alert the leadership of PDP and members of PDP across Nigeria and general public that Oyo State PDP has been factionalized into two – one is headed by the Governor and the other by the leaders and stakeholders across the 33 local governments as evident at this meeting.
(6) This is owing to governor’s highhandedness, recalcitrant attitude and lack of leadership (sic) within the party as expected of a governor.
(7) We are calling on the National Leadership to dissolve Oyo State PDP Executive who are stooges of the governor and have no interest of the party at heart ahead of congresses coming up later in the year so as to give a sense of belonging to our teeming members and supporters in Oyo State. The caretaker committee should be put in place to reorganize the party ahead of the congresses to allow for free and fair congresses.
(8) The Stakeholders call on the national leadership of PDP to urgently step in to rescue the Party in Oyo State from the grip of the Governor who is running the Party like his personal estate. To be forewarned is to be forearmed.
-Dare Adeniran
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