Oduduwa News

The crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party PDP in Oyo State has taken a new dimension as some party faithfuls said to be loyal to a faction of the party converged at Jogor Centre, Ibadan to elect their executive members.

It was gathered that a former member of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Michael Okunlade emerged as the Chairman and he emerged during a parallel congress well attended by the aggrieved members of the party.

As at the time of filing this report, a congress by another faction of the party led by Governor Seyi Makinde is currently ongoing at the Lekan Salami Sports Complex, Adamasingba, Ibadan.

The aggrieved members leading the faction include: a former House of Representative Leader, Mulikat Adeola Akande, Hon Ajibola Muraina, Alhaji Nureni Akanbi, Alhaji Olopoeyan, Alhaji Gbolarumi, Mr Femi Babalola, Asiwaju Yemi Aderibigbe, Alhaji Gani Dosu, Engineer Kayode Popoola, Hon Demola Omotosho, Princess Aderonke Adedoja and Dr Aborode among others.

Other state officers that were elected unopposed at the Jogor center venue were Hon Matthew Abioye (Deputy Chairman), Mr Abiodun Oyesola (State Secretary), Pa Olawuwo ( Vice Chairman Oyo South), Akeem Ariola (Financial Secretary), Mogaji Bola Akinyemi (Publicity Secretary) and Asiwaju Adekola Adeoye re-elected (Youth leader) of the party.

Okunlade, in his acceptance speech promised to pacify all members and work towards the development of the party, calling on all party faithful to support the new executive so as to take over the state’s administration comes 2023.

He also promised never to let down the teeming members of the party in the state in his acceptance speech after his election.

The former state lawmaker said the disagreement of the party members with Governor Makinde is for the best interest of the party assuring that the party would continue to wax stronger and stronger in the state.

He described himself as one of the victims of the misgivings of governor Makinde.
He said “Let me start by thanking you leaders, elders and members of our great party. We have made history today. With what we have done today, we have rescued our party from “Mr. Take it all.”

“We fought for the voiceless among us. We defended our party from oppressors. With this, we have began to rebuild our party. We have started a new dawn in Oyo state chapter of our party.

“We are all aware why we arrived at this stage. Like you, I am one of the victims of the misgivings of Governor Makinde. We struggled for him during the electioneering campaign but we are his arch enemies today. The governor met us in the party but decided to send us away from our home. Will you allow that? Will you allow that? Will you allow that to happen?

“We are here today because you refused to be oppressed. I thank you for your steadfastness and endurance. We thank you for your commitment to PDP and we also thank you for your support.

“On this note, I promise never to let you down. I promise to abide by the Constitution of our great party. I promise to listen and work with you.
“If you notice anything, please call my attention to it. Don’t hesitate to visit our Secretariat whenever you notice we are derailing.

“My office is open to all members, especially when you have suggestions or recommendations for betterment of our party.

“PDP will continue to wax stronger and stronger in Oyo state, regardless of the shinanigans of those who believe they are in power.

“However, I must say this for prosperity. When forceful becomes an institution, truth looks like rebellion. We stand nothing to gain to lie against our governor who is a symbol of our party in Oyo state. We stand nothing to gain by destroying what we have laboured for, having being in opposition for eight years.

“During the electionnering campaign, Gov. Seyi promised to be fair to all of us in the state. He promised to continue to correct whatever mistakes he makes while discharging his duty as a governor.
“He promised safety of lives and property of the people of the state. He promised to dismantle any form of thuggery and hooliganism in the state. He promised us internal democracy. He promised that we won’t regret our support for him. He eloquently stated this all the time and we believed him.

“Today, he has derailed from the promises he made. We feel used, betrayed and dumped by him. Yes, we are aggrieved, not only because lack of government patronage but because our leaders here are matured and seasoned politicians who understand the intrigues of governance.

“We are also aggrieved because he doesn’t have respect for internal democracy. No respect for our leaders and he keeps blackmaling them, giving erroneous impression of whose they are. He believes that his money brought him to power and that is why everything starts and ends on his table.

“Unfortunately we called his attention to all these realities but he sees us as rebel. We are being blackmailed for saying the truth. He dismantled the structure we built over the years.

“We cannot move around freely now. Even when we were in opposition during Ajimobi’s era, nobody was harassed. There was religious tolerance and we were free to move around. But today, reverse is the case.

“But we believe in God. We know he will stand by us and fight our course.”

The Police in Ogun State on Friday warned against political thuggery and violence as the two major factions of the All Progressives Congress (APC) are set to conduct parallel State congresses on Saturday.

ODUDUWA NEWS reports that the warring groups led by Governor Dapo Abiodun and his predecessor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, had held parallel ward and Local Government congresses last month.

The factions battling for the soul of the ruling party have now concluded plans to also hold separate congresses to elect the state executive members of the APC in the exercise slated for Saturday.

Amosun group had picked the Ake palace ground, Abeokuta as venue of its congress, Abiodun’s faction will be conducting their congress at main bowl of the MKO Abiodun stadium, Kuto, Abeokuta.

The State Police Command said it had deployed large number of policemen to secure the MKO Abiola Stadium, Kuto, where Abiodun’s faction had picked as the venue of the congress.

The Police Spokesman, Abimbola Oyeyemi, in a statement, on Friday night, warned that “any act of hooliganism and brigandage before, during and after the congress will not be tolerated.”

He also warned that anybody who has no business in and around the venue of the congress should steer clear of the area

Oyeyemi said, “The Command will deal decisively with anybody caught in any act capable of undermining the peace and tranquility being enjoyed in the state, no matter the position or status of such person.

“Parents and guardians are also advised to call their wards to order by counseling them not to allow themselves to be used for political thuggery as such will be viewed with all seriousness.”

The Police Spokesman quoted the Commissioner of Police, Lanre Bankole, to have wished members of the party successful congress, while enjoining them to conduct themselves in a peaceful manner and exhibit high sense of sportsmanship.

However, the chairman of the Congress Committee for Ogun state, Wale Ohu has declared that, any congress outside the one conducted by his committee is “null and void.”

Ohu insisted that the only congress conducted by his committee will be regarded as valid State Congress election in the state.

Ohu disclosed this while briefing journalists after the screening of all aspirants seeking election into various state party offices, held at the APC secretariat, Moshood Abiola Way, in the State capital.

He said, “I have the mandate of the National Secretariat of the party to vet, screen and conduct the Ogun State congress of the APC. No other election is valid, except the one my committee of 7 sent by the National headquarters of the party.

“You will recall that we had conducted Ward and Local Government Congresses in this State before. The outcome of the congresses were subjected to appeal and subsequently validated and upheld by the CCECP of the party.

“Only a few minutes ago we sworn in the leadership at the local government level because the caretaker committee of the State Executive Council had been dissolved. For emphasis, tomorrow’s Congress of the APC will hold at MKO Abiola International Stadium, Kuto, Abeokuta, not anywhere else. Any other purported or supposed election is therefore a nullity,” he stressed.

According to Ohu, the clarification became necessary because he had been inundated with calls, text messages and physical enquiries over the exercise and insinuations that some other persons are planning to have another election.

The national leadership of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has announced suspension of the ongoing State Congress in Oyo state due to forging of documents meant for the exercise and other irregularities.

Governor of Yobe state and Chairman, Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, Hon. Mai Mala Buni, gave the ordered.

In a statement signed by the party’s National Secretary Sen. John James Akpanudoedehe, Saturday morning, said the suspension became necessary to ensure credibility of the process leading to the emergence of new leaders in Oyo state.

The statement affirmed that APC under governor Mai Mala Buni will not tolerate act of indiscipline and fraudulent manipulation of process of any kind.

“It has become necessary to suspend the ongoing State Congress exercise in Oyo state due to information regarding the forging of documents meant to conduct this exercise.

“The national chairman, has however ordered the Oyo state Congress Committee to return to the National Secretariat for further briefing.” The statement said.

The APC also assured the teaming members of the party of level playing ground and justice at all time.

Pastor Tunde Bakare of Citadel Global Community Church (also known as Latter Rain Assembly), has said that it is of no importance what region the next president comes from, as long as said individual is able to govern properly.

“Listen to me, if where the president comes from will make the place he has come from to be better, the northern part of Nigeria should be the richest and should be the most progressive and the most developed because out of 61 years, the north has produced either the president or heads of state for 40 to 41 years, and yet see the retrogression in the North,” Mr Bakare told State House correspondents on Friday afternoon. “Not where they come from, it’s what they carry and what they have to offer. May the best of the best of Nigerians rise, whether they’re from the east, from the west, from the north, and from the south.

Mr Bakare’s comments came shortly after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

His position could widen the raging debate about whether or not the presidency should be ceded to Southern Nigeria by way of consensus in 2023 when Mr Buhari’s tenure will expire. Mr Buhari is from Northern Nigeria and power rotation has been practiced amongst political parties in informal arrangements because the Constitution did not prescribe power rotation between the multiple ethnic and religious groups within the country.

While several politicians in the South have threatened serious political consequences if the power is not shifted to the region in 2023, northern politicians are insisting that no citizen should be disenfranchised because they are from a region that produced the last president.

Mr Bakare, in his exchange with the State House reporters, acknowledged the validity of internal party zoning arrangements, but said such affairs cannot supersede extant constitutional provisions.

“If there are agreements between politicians among themselves on rotation, a bargain is a bargain, that’s between them,” he said. “But as far as this country is concerned, what we need at this stage is a man who can drive us to the Eldorado.”

Mr Bakare also hinted at the 2023 presidential election, saying if Nigerians and God wanted him to run for the position. he would.

“Every Nigerian, who is of age and who is not disqualified by any means, is free. I’m a nation builder, if God wants me to do that, and the people of Nigeria will appreciate that, why not? I’m as free as anybody to do anything with my time. I’ve pastored a church for 33 years, now we raise new leaders. I want to focus on nation-building.

This meeting comes after Mr Bakare, who was Mr Buhari’s running mate in the duo’s unsuccessful presidential run in 2011, had publicly declared in July that he would no longer visit Mr Buhari as the president failed to improve the lives and wellbeing of Nigerians.

Last year, Mr Bakare had asked that he be exempted from national conversations.