BAYO AGBOOLA in Ibadan reports that the new state working committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in Oyo state have realised the need to unite in order to retain the Government House come 2023. But the reconciliation challenge remains tough as many still stick to their guns
It is not news that the PDP in Oyo state amidst its prolonged factional crisis has ‘successfully’ put in place an executive council for the state expected to be in charge of the party affairs in the next three or more years despite the parallel state congress witnessed in the state.
The Hon. Dayo Ogungbenro-led new PDP State Working Committee (SWC) members are, no doubt, fully in charge having attended and actively participated in the recently held PDP National convention in Abuja.
The exco automatically got the much needed endorsement and final recognition thereby bestowing on them the onerous task putting the umbrella house of PDP in order across the state ahead of the 2023 general elections.
Apparently sensing the big task ahead, the party, especially, in a bid to retain its hold on the Oyo State Government House by winning the 2023 governorship, leaders and stakeholders of the party in the state are now seeing the reason to preach peace and make solicitations for unity within the party to forge ahead.
Championing the advocacy for a new and formidable PDP in Oyo state, the leader of the party in the state and governor of the state, Engr Seyi Makinde without mincing words tasked the newly elected executive committee to leave no stone unturned in ensuring total reconciliation of the aggrieved members with a view to unifying party.
While receiving the new Oyo state PDP executives into his office during a courtesy call cum thank you visit, Governor Makinde said, “We said something to ourselves that we may have a disagreement because there will always be disagreement in every human interaction.
“But what we are saying is that even if we have a disagreement, let us get ourselves together to get power and then those disagreements will go to the Government House where we will all settle it.
“And today, we are here in the Exco Chamber. Yes, we may not be able to satisfy everybody. Anytime we have challenges with anybody, let them bring those things to the table and we’ll fix it”.
Makinde enjoined the Hon Ogungbenro-led new executive committee of PDP to reconcile all aggrieved members and unify the party’s structure ahead of the 2023 general election.
In doing this, the governor appealed to the new executive committee to be fair and just to all members.
“I think by now, even the aggrieved members know where the party structure is. But we are not going to say they should go away as we also have to reach out to them. When the general populace pushed us to get ourselves organised that they will vote PDP, even some of our members did not believe it would work.
“We are lucky in Oyo state. Today, the Deputy National Chairman (South) of the party is from Oyo state. So, there is a channel to reach the very top decision-makers.
“So, I want to promise you that everything we are supposed to work out to ensure that the party structure is well oiled and maintained, will be done.
“Everything that we have to do in terms of providing logistics and incentives will get to you. We are the ones at the state level but anything we are doing must get to the grassroots level because those are the people that will interface with the general populace.
“We are drinking from the PDP well and it is my prayer that others will also drink from the same well. So, that is why we must not pollute the well, no matter, how angry we may be. And I am sure that all the things each and every one of us is expecting will get to us.
“As the leadership and administrator of the party in Oyo state, we must have the commitment to be fair and just to all the party members and even to those that claimed to be aggrieved. Once you bring them to the fold, deal with everybody as one. Let us try our best to do all we need to do and leave the rest for God.”
On his part, the newly elected Oyo state PDP Chairman, Hon. Dayo Ogungbenro, emphasized that instllling discipline in the party would be his major concern as well as ensuring the unity and oneness to enable the party confront the challenges ahead of 2023.
Ogungbenro while frowning at the ‘stubbornness’ of some of the aggrieved PDP stakeholders on the prolonged crisis in the party said, “Normally, you have to give a sitting governor a chance; you don’t lord it over him. Even last Friday, His Excellency said publicly at our stakeholders meeting that he is going to meet some of the aggrieved PDP members that day.
“I gave the analogy that the way you approach an aspirant is different from the way you approach a candidate and different from the way you approach a sitting governor. I have had opportunity to be where our principal invited the aggrieved members, you don’t insist.
“In politics, it is natural to have ambitions but you don’t put your ambition on concrete because the ambition might not see the light of the day. There must be contingency. If you put it on concrete, it might be difficult and that is what is happening.
“Engineer Seyi Makinde is not a stumbling block in any reconciliatory move.That is it; you have to be flexible. Then no matter the age of the governor, the governor is the number one citizen of the state whether you like it or not.
“That perception of Governor Seyi Makinde being the stumbling block is very wrong. It is wrong in the sense that, normally, you have to give a sitting governor a chance; you don’t lord it over him. Even last Friday, His Excellency said publicly at our stakeholders meeting that he is going to meet some of the aggrieved PDP members that day.
On whether the request for some appointments by the aggrieved Oyo PDP stakeholders was one of the issues making reconciliation difficult, the new Oyo state PDP Chairman said, “it might be one of them but I don’t want to delve into that.
“Let them sort it out with the governor but my appeal is that they should allow reason to prevail. You cannot say because you are my father, you drag me up and down.
However, one of the leaders in the opposing camp, Alhaji Adebisi Olopoeniyan was categorical on the way forward in Oyo state PDP.
He declared that the step the new PDP national executives would take would determine what will happen to PDP in Oyo state, adding that Michael Okunlade is the recognised PDP Chairman in Oyo state.
“For us, Michael Okunlade is the Chairman. But we heard there is another Chairman whom I do not know his name. Even if at the end of the day, the NWC recognised their Chairman, we remain strong and stick to our Chairman. What I am sure of is that you cannot force anyone to be with you.
“The step the new national executives would take would determine what will happen, but as of today, Michael Okunlade is the recognised PDP chairman in Oyo state as far as we concerned.
Olopoeniyan continued, “Let me first congratulate the new National Chairman of our great party, Senator Iyorchia Ayu and other members of the executives on their emergence, but that congratulations will not be 100 per cent until they have succeeded. What I mean by that is I cannot fully congratulate them until the needful is done.
“I discovered that the rancour within our party in Oyo state is centred around me because anytime we are doing anything concerning our party, I noticed that some people are always after my life. What that tells me is that I am a very important figure in the party and those people know my worth but they do not know how to go about doing the right thing.
“What happened in Osogbo during the zonal election of PDP repeated itself in Abuja. I monitored everything here from Ibadan. What I am trying to avoid is that the present administration is going to come to an end and everybody would remain the same. I could not go to the convention because it is very dangerous to my life. I am a delegate, I decided not to go because I needed to protect my life.
“I remain a committed member of the PDP, I have not left the party and I have no plan to leave. Take for instance, the camp of Teslim Folarin in the APC, held their congress and nobody went to attack them despite the fact that there are many aggrieved members of the party.
“If that was what was being done before Seyi Makinde secured the PDP ticket to contest, he would not have been the governor. The PDP in Oyo state has turned to another thing entirely
If feelers from the two warring factions in Oyo PDP are anything to go by, one can say the warlords are now reasoning on the way to work together towards repositioning the party to be able to face the big challenges ahead of 2023. A reputable source within Oyo PDP bodily predicted that the prolonged factional crisis rocking the party in the state will be a thing of the past by January, 2023.
