The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Southwest Nigeria has elected a new National Vice Chairman of the party, suggesting that the lingering crisis bedevilling the Southwest region of the party may have been resolved.
The party leadership and stakeholders in the region all agreed to sheath their swords and let peace reign as they resolved to elect Osun State-born Kamorudeen Ajisafe as the new National Vice Chairman (Southwest) of the party, during a meeting held at the frontage of the Presidential Lodge, Oyo State Government House, Agodi, Ibadan.
Governor Makinde, who spoke shortly after the meeting, disclosed that the major outcome of the meeting is that the PDP in the Southwest is now fully united with the election of the new vice chairman.
Earlier, the Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT) and former Senate President, Senator Adolphus Wabara, on behalf of the BoT, appreciated Makinde and the Osun State governor, Ademola Adeleke, for providing leadership for the party in the Southwest, urging all PDP members to rally round and unite by setting aside their differences.
He noted: “The Southwest is the citadel of politics in Nigeria in terms of education, development and exposure. But unfortunately, the PDP produced only two governors and I am sure the reason why that happened cannot be far-fetched.
“Now, we are here together as a family. If we are suffering, we are all suffering as a family. PDP remains the party that is not owned by anybody. It remains the most democratic party in Nigeria,” Wabara declared.
Better leadership
Speaking after the meeting, the Deputy National Chairman (South), Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja, commended the leadership role of Governor Makinde and Governor Adeleke, noting that the Southwest zone has always taken the lead at the national level of the party and Nigerians should expect better leadership from the party in the zone and at the national level with the renewed unity at the regional level.
He said: “We thank God that unity has returned to the Southwest PDP. Today, during our zonal meeting, the two governors, Governor Seyi Makinde and Senator Ademola Adeleke for the first time came together and met with our members to nominate who will be representing our zone in Abuja as National Vice Chairman (Southwest).
“We lead at the national level because you can now see that things are not all fine now that we are not leading, but with this unity and collaboration between the two governors, I think we are good to go and take our proper role at the national level,” Arapaja stated.
Similarly, the acting Chairman of the Southwest PDP, Rahman Owokoniran, who welcomed the leaders to the meeting, described it as a special one, saying it is the coming together of the party’s two governors in the region to midwife the unification of the party in the region.
He noted: “The wishes of our governors and leaders is to strengthen our party in the zone in view of returning our party to a winning status,m. We are proud to have the two governors who are committed to making our party strong in the zone and the nation at large.”
Zone reconciliation
The newly elected vice chairman, Ajisafe, thanked the two governors, the zonal leaders and stakeholders for finding him worthy of the position, saying he will throw his weight into the ongoing reconciliation in the zone.
He noted: “Reconciliation is ongoing, and as a barrister, I should be able to lend my weight too to the reconciliation so that at the end of the day we can easily predict the future that tomorrow will be good, that PDP is going to take its rightful position in the political arena.
“So, I will position myself in such a way that I will not undermine the regulations, rules and constitutions of the party. So, the reconciliation will move on and we will not put to the back side discipline. There must be discipline and with discipline, the sky is the limit,” Ajisafe said.
The meeting also had in attendance former governors Olagunsoye Oyinlola of Osun state, and Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo state, as well as the governorship candidate of the PDP in Ogun State in the 2023 general election, Ladi Adebutu.
Others are serving and former deputy governors of Oyo State, serving and former lawmakers, as well as party executive members in the Southwest and across the six states of the geopolitical zone.
Emmanuel Ukoh
Comments are closed.