The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Peoples Democratic Party

  • Ekiti 2018: Fayose rallies supporters for PDP mega rally

    Urges them to wear White on rally day

    Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose has urged residents of the state to attend the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) flag off rally to be held on Thursday.

    The PDP governorship candidate, Prof. Kolapo Olusola, will be presented with the flag at the event to be attended by governors and the party’s national and zonal leadership.

    Fayose who spoke on Broadcasting Service of Ekiti State (BSES) described the event as “mother of all rallies.” He urged party supporters to wear white to the rally.

    The governor promised to provide free fuel to commercial motorcycle riders on election day to convey eligible voters to polling stations at highly reduced prices.

    Fayose vowed that the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, will be defeated in all the 16 local government areas of the state.

    The governor claimed that the APC flag bearer relies on federal might, while he and Olusola depend on the people’s might.

    He said: “There will be a mother of all rallies on Thursday, July, 5 where the PDP flag will be given to our candidate, Olusola Kolapo Eleka.

    “There will also be victory walk where all of us will wear white, and walk through the state capital praising God and thanking him for victory over our enemies.”

    He added: “The power of the people is greater than those of us in= power, peoples’ might is greater than federal might.

    Read Also: Ekiti 2018: Workers accuse Fayose of illegal data capturing

    “Anything that does not represent the truth in this poll will fail. The opposition is fighting God and they will fail. We will beat APC 16-0 again.”

    Fayose alleged that the Federal Government has been delaying allocations to states because of the impending election in Ekiti.

    He claimed that the alleged seizure of Ekiti allocation was aimed at instigating workers against his administration.

    Fayose said: “The Federal Government has refused to share the allocation. They decided to delay so that workers in Ekiti would be angry with Fayose.

    “They held a meeting last week Saturday and decided to delay the allocation so that workers won’t get salaries until after July 14 poll.

    “They owe me two budget supports. They delayed the salaries of the workers across the nation because of Ekiti. Is that a government that loves the masses?

    He condemned the recent wave of violence in some quarters in the state and urged members of PDP to desist from violent activities:

    “See how APC attacked people in Fayose market and Oloje Ekiti. Our power is our PVC, l urge men of God both those supporting me and those not, to campaign  to people to go get their PVC

    “I urge all PDP members once again not to retaliate the APC thugs, reserve your strength till the day of election. It is not a physical combat but one done with your PVCs. Don’t take arms against anybody, don’t fight.

    “Avoid distribution of money during the poll; it could land you in prison. I promise all Okada men, to provide fuel so you take our people with half price for movement during the poll.”

  • Uncertainty over PDP’s guber ticket

    Ahead of the September 22 governorship election in the state, the Osun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is making efforts to choose for itself a credible and popular gubernatorial flag bearer. Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan, reports the cloud of uncertainty that currently pervades the ongoing struggle for the ticket of the opposition party in the state.

    AT the last count, more than 20 persons showed interest in becoming the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the September 22 governorship election in Osun State. Despite its current status as an opposition party in the state, chieftains of the PDP, as well as some pundits, believe the party stands a chance of winning the election provided it picks the “right candidate” among its array of contestants.

    Determined to do its best at arriving at the best choice as its flag-bearer, the PDP in Osun State, guided by the Screening Committee constituted for the purpose by the national secretariat of the party, cleared 11 aspirants. The Nation gathered that of the initial crowd of about 20 aspirants, only the said 11 fulfilled all requirements needed to appear before the screening committee.

    “Some of those aspirants jumping all over the place before now, like I told you before, were not serious contenders. Among them were some people hoping to be handed the party’s ticket by some undemocratic arrangements. Those are the ones you see leaving PDP for other parties even before the primary election was conducted. They have since realised it is no longer business as usual.

    “There were also those who had no plan of going all the way. They are the pretenders who entered the race merely to garner some cheap political visibility. We knew them all along and the party was conscious of their antics. One or two of them were even fronting for some other aspirants. With the seriousness being shown by the new leaderships of the party, both at the state and at the national levels, they have all come to realise we are not joking about the next election,” a PDP chieftain told The Nation in Osogbo, the state capital.

    As the date of the primary election draws nearer, the state chairman of the PDP, Hon. Soji Adagunodo, is leaving nobody in doubt of the preparedness of the party to give all the cleared aspirants a level playing ground. He assured all aspirants of a free and fair primary election. “We will ensure all the aspirants get equal treatment, and it will be unfair for anybody to say the party already has a preferred candidate.”

    The Nation also learnt that an agreement was recently reached between the state leadership of the party and all the aspirants to the effect that the entire process, as well as the delegates that will midwife the emergence of the party’s candidate, will be open to all the contenders and their camps.

    The contenders

    Following last Wednesday’s clearance of aspirants contesting to be the party’s flag bearer, the PDP in Osun State is now ready to pick one of those who emerged as serious contenders as its flag-bearer. Chairman of the Screening Committee, Austin Opara, at the presentation of Screening Certificates to the aspirants at Wadata Plaza, in Abuja, said the successful aspirants include Sen. Akanbi Abdulrasheed, Dr. Ayoade Adewepo, Dr. Oyewumi Olalere, Mr. Nathaniel Oke, Sen. Ogunwale Felix and Alhaji Fatai Akinbade. Others are Dr. Ezekiel Adeniji, Dr. Akin Ogunbiyi, Rafiu Bello, Sen. Ademola Adeleke and Prof. Adeolu Durotoye. Opara commended the aspirants and urged them to work as a team for PDP’s success in the election.

    The aspirants, while assuring of their readiness to cooperate with the party to ensure a hitch-free primary election, commended the Screening Committee for a wonderful work. Adewopo, while commending the leaderships of the party at state and national levels, said the people of the state are looking up to PDP to provide the much needed credible alternative for them to vote for at the September election. He said PDP will win the next election once it is able to give the people of the state the candidate they are yearning for. “We all know who can win the election for us. What we need to cooperate and do the right thing,” he said.

    Meanwhile, The Nation gathered that some of the aspirants whose names did not make the final list of screened aspirants are offering explanations to their supporters on why they are out of the guber race so early. One of such, a former federal lawmaker, who sources claimed did not obtain nomination form to be part of the screening process, have told his supporters that he decided to opt out of the race for personal reasons.

    ‘Don’t know’ in the lead

    But with the primaries for the PDP governorship ticket weeks away, checks by The Nation revealed that majority of party chieftains and members are uncertain over where the pendulum will swing. This, according to many party sources, is an unusual development that should be commended in the history of the party in Osun State. Not a few attributed the uncertainty to the level playing field provided all aspirants by the Adagunodo-led committee.

    “In the past, we would all know who will win the ticket even when we felt the person is not the best we have in PDP. One person will always win the ticket only to go on and lose the general election as usual. That is no longer the case and this is a development many party men and women are happy about. We now know our vote will count at the primary election and we are all eager to exercise our right to choose,” a source said.

    The Nation also gathered that the aspirants and their supporters are working frantically round the clock as they transverse the length and breadth of the state, speaking to party leaders and would-be delegates, about their gubernatorial ambitions. According to checks by The Nation, not less than seven of the aspirants met party leaders and selected party members at different locations across the state this week alone.

    “Nobody can confidently say this is the person who will win the ticket. We will, for the first time in the history of Osun PDP, have to wait till the very end of the primary election before we even have an idea of who our candidate will be. While you may call it uncertainty for now, it is a good development for us as a party that is serious about winning the next election and taking over the administration of the state,” our source said.

    However, there are fears in some quarters that money may still play a big role in determining who would ultimately get the ticket given the unusual openness of the race at this crucial time with no party leader or group exercising firm control over the possible fate of the aspirants. The late entrance of some aspirants perceived to be money bags, or backed by some big spenders, into the race, heightened this fear in recent weeks.

    While party leaders and chieftains insist all the aspirants are good enough to represent the PDP as the candidate, some pundits say the race is actually a contest that may be limited to about four of the screened contestants. Many observers of the politics of these state and the recent struggles of the opposition party to reposition itself and return to its winning ways after eight years out of political power, say some aspirants are better positioned to clinch the ticket than the others.

    “Delegates at the primary election will be thinking about many things when they go to cast their votes. But many of them will be thinking about the roles played by each of these aspirants during the fierce struggle to free PDP in Osun State from the strangulating hold of a few people. We know those who joined us to end the dictatorship that kept our party on its kneel for so many years.

    “We also know those who sat on the fence and watched on as if they are not part of the party. While some fought with us and suffered many humiliations as we suffered, many others stood aloof and watched as the battle raged back and forth. They were later to shift to our side after the battle was won. There are even some of them who fought against us back then. Today, they are with us and they want the party ticket. The delegates will decide their fates,” a party leader from Osogbo said.

  • I’m in politics for building a better Nigeria — Peter Obi

    Former Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, has stressed that he is not in politics for position but as a loyal party man to contribute in building a better Nigeria for the benefit of all Nigerians.

    Obi made the clarification while responding to media inquiries while attending the 242nd US Independence ceremony on Saturday in Ikoyi, Lagos.

    Asked to confirm if it is true that he has been chosen as the vice presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the 2019 elections, Obi threw the question back, asking: “Do you choose the vice presidential candidate before the emergence of the presidential candidate?”

    When the reporter replied in the negative, the former governor said: “That means that the answer is capital NO. Nobody has discussed that with me. Let me point out that the position of Vice President is not something which one can vie for; it is the prerogative of the candidate, after due consultations with the party, to choose his running mate.

    “I am in politics because I want to help in building a better future for Nigerians, especially for our children – we must bequeath them a better country.”

    Read Also: Education is key, says Peter Obi

    Continuing, Obi, who was days ago rumoured to have emerged as the running mate of PDP frontrunner Atiku Abubakar, said: “Every Nigerian must be concerned about the daily killing in our country. Every Nigerian must be concerned about the high level of insecurity in our country today. Every Nigerian must be concerned about the 10 million children out of school when they are supposed to be in school – considering that education is the most important investment we can make for our children for their future. Every Nigerian must be concerned about the millions of unemployed people, especially youths in their productive age who are unemployed.

    “These are my concerns. As I have always said, I would prefer to be an ordinary person in a great country than to be a great man in a failed country.”

    Obi also supported the call by the USA Consul General, Mr. Paul Arkwright for Nigerians to embrace mentoring, saying that the same urge to mentor the young ones was one of the reasons for his school apostolate.

    Obi extended his condolences to those who lost their loved ones in recent mass deaths in the country, especially in the Plateau massacre and Thursday evening’s traffic inferno in the Berger area of Lagos. He appealed to government at all levels to rise up to the challenge of securing the life and property of all Nigerians “since the primary duty of government is to secure the lives of the citizens.”

  • Prove your innocence, APC urges detained Ondo PDP Chieftains

    The Ondo state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Saturday advised the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its sympathizers to encourage the detained PDP’s Chairman, Clement Faboyede, and his co-traveler, Tokunbo Modupe, to prove their innocence before a competent court of law, instead of resorting to blackmail of a system that means well.

    Publicity Secretary of APC, in the State, Alex Kalejaye, said the resolve of the PDP to turn attack on the APC, instead of planning how to defend one of its principals betrays the weakness of its defense, if any.

    Kalejaye reacted to a statement credited to the Zonal Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Ayo Fadaka, to the effect that the duo had done nothing fraudulent.

    Fadaka was quoted as saying” we wish to state categorically that the APC is merely abusing the privileges of power to prosecute the PDP endlessly, this we consider pedestrian and cheap”,

    The APC spokesman said he would have ignored the attack for its pettiness, “but the need to guide people’s mind against pollution makes this reaction a necessity”.

    He argued that the PDP as a party has a duty to commend the current administration for succeeding where the former failed in its 16 years of reckless and crude financial allocations and sharing, saying the APC is on a rescue mission.

    Read Also: Oshiomhole to intervene in Imo APC crisis

    Kalejaye said: “The PDP does not reserve the right under the law to tell the good people of Nigeria whether an individual is a criminal or not; nor when an act is deemed to be criminally  fraudulent. That is why the court is there.

    “If the former PDP chairman is accused of financial crime, one would have expected his party to urge him to defend himself and prove his innocence, if he is convinced, instead of raising needless alarm”.

    He expressed surprise that a faithful of the PDP could be talking about abuse of power when “every political observer could vividly recall the brutish approach to, and deployment  of power under former president Olusegun Obasanjo.”

    The APC spokesman warned that the APC would not be deterred by blackmail of whatever coloration in its quest to recover the taxpayer’s money that was mindlessly starched away, irrespective of party affiliations.

    The three charges pressed against Messers Faboyede and Modupe border on conspiracy and money laundering.

    Faboyede was being accused of making N500m cash payment to the Ondo State Election Committee of the PDP.

  • Plateau killings: PDP knocks Presidency for kicking against call for mourning

    The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has expressed shock at a statement credited to the Presidency justifying its failure to stem the tide of killings and bloodletting in the country, particularly in the Plateau, Zamfara,  Benue, Yobe, Adamawa, Borno, Kogi, Taraba and other troubled states.

    In a statement on Thursday by presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, the Presidency had condemned PDP’s call for seven days mourning in honour of the over 200 villagers killed in Plateau State on Sunday.

    In a statement on Thursday by the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, the opposition party said it’s reprehensible that the Presidency had displayed its usual arrogance and insensitivity too the mood of the nation.

    The statement said, “It is disturbing that even in death, the Buhari Presidency still wants to deny these victims of callous murder the honour of being mourned.

    Read Also: Oshiomhole to Presidency, National Assembly: I’ll uphold party supremacy

    “We are particularly appalled that instead of joining Nigerians in mourning the dead and seeking ways to stem the escalation of the bloodletting under its watch, the Buhari Presidency is engaged in morbid reference to past killings as if the lives of Nigerians have no value under President Buhari’s watch.

    “The PDP, as a party, will continue to identify with Nigerians at this troubled time irrespective of ethnic, religious and political affiliations and will therefore not allow itself to be dragged into a needless mire with the Buhari Presidency, which has shown by its statement, that it has no iota of regard for the lives of Nigerians.

    “PDP urges the Buhari Presidency to confront the challenge of fulfilling the basic responsibility of governance by providing security to the lives and property of all Nigerians, irrespective of their creed, tribe and political affiliations.

    “Finally, the PDP assures Nigerians that we will not be deterred in speaking out against the killings and the failure of the Buhari administration to take concrete steps to stem this ugly tide”.

  • Plateau killings: Reps PDP Caucus seeks prayers, concerted efforts

    The Caucus of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the House of Representatives has said that concerted efforts and prayers are the only measures that can bring an end to  the violent attacks in parts of the country.

    The Caucus condemned in strong terms the latest attack in Plateau state where more than one hundred lives were confirmed dead, the lawmakes, while expressing  shock over the  killing of little children in violent attacks largely suspected to be retaliatory action over lost cows.

    The opposition lawmakers however condemned the Federal government’s inaction over what it described as deliberate ineffectiveness, unending criminality and free flow of human blood continue across the nation, as a result of emboldened herdsmen’s incessant bloody campaigns.

    In a statement on Thursday by the Deputy Minority Leader, Chukwuka Onyema, the Caucus also condemned the Presidential Villa security personnel’s assault on a leader of the Bring Back Our Girls Movement (BBOG) and former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili on Tuesday while on a solo protest march to the State House to demand for accountability and end to the violent killings going on in the country.

    It reads: “Following the gruesome killing of more than 100 persons and razing of some 50 houses, two cars and 15 motorcycles by rampaging herdsmen who wantonly invaded Razat, Ruku, Nyarr, Kura and Gana-Ropp villages of Gashish District in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau state, the US Department of State joined its voice to that of numerous concerned Nigerians by expressing utter condemnation for such unjustified violence.

    Read Also: PDP lawmaker joins APC

    “For long, the APC government that came into power on the basis of now-unrealized promises of bringing back all the abducted Chibok girls had remained rather aloof from the cries and pains of many whose states and communities had been visited with pains, sorrow and death in the hands of rampaging and armed herdsmen.

    ‘Activist lawyer, Femi Falana has expressed possibility of dragging the Federal Government and the Plateau State Government to the Special Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court for condoning crimes against humanity and genocide while Amnesty International which notes that at least 1813 people have been murdered in 17 states in the country this year, asserts that government’s failure to hold murderers to account is encouraging them and fueling rising insecurity across the country.

    “It is cause for concern that Oby Ezekwesili, the co-convener of the BBOG movement ran into trouble after she began a loud solo protest with her demands for action from the Presidency, as she asked for explanations that normally agitate the minds of many Nigerians.

    “On a date that it had just been disclosed that Nigeria, under the APC government, has overtaken India in the democratization of poverty for 87 million citizens, including 11 million that lost their jobs within the last three years; Ezekwesili was asking the APC government to put an end to the endless killings by herdsmen, stop its routine blame game and reveal the identity of the perpetrators of wanton killings in Benue, Taraba, Kaduna, Zamfara, Plateau, Nassarawa and Kogi states.

    “Too many needless deaths are occurring and it is time for all to feel deeply concerned; we urge all Nigerians to join hands in special prayers for the repose of the souls of those killed as well as victory against those using political power to tactically justify the activities of killer herdsmen”.

  • Atiku, Turaki knock FG over Plateau killings

    Two presidential aspirants on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and a former Minister of Special Duties, Alhaji Tanimu Turaki, have knocked the Federal Government over Sunday’s mass killing of Plateau villagers

    In separate interviews in Abuja on Tuesday, the two politicians blamed the security approach adopted by the Federal Government in the management of the crisis.

    While describing the killings as unfortunate Atiku said, “It is not every security breach you use hard power on. You need to establish dialogue between leadership of various communities that lived together over the years.

    “So the issue of using mere crude and hard power is not the only solution. There is also the need to use soft power on the issue of peaceful coexistence among communities”.

    On his part, Turaki, blamed the killings on the failure of the All Progressives Congress led Federal Government for failing to address security lapses across the country.

    Read Also: 2019: Atiku urges free, fair PDP primaries

    Turaki said, “If you recall, a few months ago, the National Security Agency had appeared before the Senate and disclosed that the greatest problem that the Nigeria security agencies have today is that the agencies work at cross purposes.

    “There is no cooperation, there is no synergy. If critical security agencies are not sharing information or working together, then how do you expect them to come up with tight security architecture that will safeguard the lives and properties of Nigerians? And that is what is happening”.

    Turaki, however, expressed the confidence that the PDP had all it takes to reclaim the leadership of the country in 2019 and return the country to a path of growth and prosperity.

    He said, “The PDP has men and women of impeccable integrity. Men and women that are known to be bridge builders, that have the needed education and experience. That is why we say PDP is different from every other political party in the country”.

  • Ex-minister Akinjide returned N650m election fund – EFCC

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Monday told the Federal High Court in Lagos that former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Jumoke Akinjide, returned N650million she allegedly received ahead of the 2015 election.

    She was arraigned along with a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader in Oyo State Chief Olarenwaju Otiti, a former Senator representing Oyo Central Senatorial District Ayo Adeseun and a former Minister of Petroleum Resources Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke, who is said to be at large.

    The EFCC accused them of conspiring to directly take possession of N650million, which they reasonably ought to have known was part of proceeds of an unlawful act, and without going through a financial institution.

    An EFCC investigator Usman Zakari, while testifying in a trial within trial to determine the truthfulness of the defendants’ statements, said his team received N10 million bank draft from Akinjide’s husband, Aliyu Pategi, out of the N650 million traced to her and others.

    Read Also: EFCC arraigns siblings for N50m fraud

    He said another team headed by Shuaibu Shehu received N640million from Akinjide in a related case.

    While being cross-examined by Akinjide’s lawyer, Chief Bolaji Ayorinde (SAN), the witness said the N10 million deposit payment was not the condition upon which Akinjide was released.

    He said: “On August 9, 2016, the first defendant (Akinjide) and her husband, Hon. Aliyu Pategi, were present throughout. I did not ask Pategi to make payment to ensure the release of the first defendant.”

    Zakari said Pategi stood surety for Akinjide when she was granted administrative bail.

    “On August 10, 2016, he volunteered a Sterling Bank draft of N10 million on behalf of his wife as part payment of the N650 million that was traced to her and her co-accused.

    “The N10 million was paid by the first defendant’s husband on her behalf and the remaining N640 million has not been paid,” Zakari said.

    When reminded by Ayorinde that the balance has been paid, Zakari said: “I am aware that the sum of N640 million was received from the first defendant in Stanbic IBTC Bank draft in another case investigated by a team tagged, HOPST, which was headed by one Shuaibu Shehu.”

    Justice Muslim Hassan adjourned until October 18.

  • PDP bemoans Plateau killings, blames Buhari, APC

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has decried the gruesome killing of over a hundred innocent Nigerians in communities in Plateau State by marauders on Sunday.

    The PDP said if President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) had heeded wise counsel by the PDP and Nigerians, such killings would have been averted.

    In a statement on Monday by its spokesman,Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP insisted that President Buhari’s failure to address and bring to book, the perpetrators of killings and bloodletting in various parts of the country was emboldening insurgents and marauders to further attack and murder defenseless Nigerians.

    “It is most disheartening that compatriots are being killed daily because those saddled with the responsibility of safeguarding lives, care less about the wellbeing and safety of the people, as they focus only on their ill-fated 2019 re-election bid.

    “Even when the Zamfara State governor, Abdul-aziz Yari cried out that he was overwhelmed by the spate of insecurity and killings, the Federal Government gave him an ineffectual response laced with their trite blame game.

    “We urge Nigerians to note that since the escalation of killings and bloodletting in various parts of the country, particularly in Plateau, Benue, Taraba, Kogi, Adamawa, Yobe, Borno, Zamfara, Kaduna and other states, no concrete steps have been taken by the APC administration to strengthen and fortify the security architecture in the troubled areas.

    Read Also: Buhari: Plateau killings regrettable, painful

    “Instead, what we are witnessing are inactions, impotent assurances and blame games that have continued to compromise security in the areas thereby creating opening for marauders to continue to ravage our people”, the statement added.

    The PDP said if the APC and its Federal Government had channeled the same energy and resources they have deployed to fighting perceived opponents towards fighting marauders and insurgents, the security challenge would not have been as devastating as it is today.

    Continuing, the opposition party said, “We now find ourselves in a situation where government attaches no value to the lives of Nigerians so much so that top security officials flout presidential orders and even abandon their security duties in troubled areas while the President, as the commander-in-chief, takes no strong steps to reorder his parade.

    “The PDP particularly agrees with Nigerians that if the over 7,000 security personnel, police surveillance helicopters and Armoured Personnel Carriers were not withdrawn from their primary security duties and drafted to be part of the APC national convention, the marauders would not have had a field day in this Plateau attack.

    “Furthermore, the PDP calls on the APC and its government to come out clear on what they stand to gain by allowing these killings and bloodletting to fester, as if the lives of our citizens have become worthless.

    “Finally, while the PDP commiserates with the families of the victims of the attack, we totally reject these killings and demand an immediate concrete step to get to the root of the matter and end this bloodletting in our land”.

  • 2019: Is PDP still a threat to APC in Lagos?

    As the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) prepares for 2019 elections in Lagos State, Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan, reports that except the party’s warring chieftains are quickly reconciled, the PDP may not be able to repeat its 2015 electoral successes in the state

    DETERMINED to improve on its unexpected performances in the state during the last general election in 2015, the Lagos State chapter of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), says it is poised to surprise the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) come 2019 by winning not just more seats in the national and state assemblies’ elections, but by installing one of its own as the next governor of the state.

    But pundits, political observers and of course chieftains of APC say the claim of the opposition party, that it is waxing stronger in the state, may not be true after all. And those telling the PDP to think twice about its continuous boast to win Lagos in 2019 are urging the party to take cognisance of the obvious effects of recent developments within the party in the state, on its electoral chances in the forthcoming election.

    No doubt, 2015 remains the finest moment of the PDP in the state. At the end of what many would readily describe as the toughest electoral battle ever in the state, the PDP won eight state assembly seats and seven House of Representatives seats across the state. Not a few chieftains of APC admitted that PDP’s unprecedented performances in the election was a huge setback for APC, which had always prided itself as the political controller of Lagos.

    So confident that it had arrived as the new toast of the people of the state was the PDP that it went ahead to challenge the victory of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of the APC as governor of the state in the courts. Not until it got all the way to the Supreme Court and was told in clear terms that Ambode and the APC validly won the 2015 gubernatorial election did the PDP give up the hope of unseating the current administration through legal processes.

    With eight members in the 40 member House of Assembly and a sizable seven at the National Assembly, PDP made its voice heard in the state more than ever before. And in the first year of the current dispensation, the party never spared any chance of telling and showing the ruling APC that they were co-owners of the political supports of the people of the state.

    “But for the luck they had and the malpractices they engaged in, there was no way APC would have defeated us in 2015. The people of Lagos voted for PDP like they never did before. That was an election the people showed interest in because they wanted to change the government at the state level. You can see how we won in areas they never thought we could win. So, they were simply told Lagos belongs to all of us,” a chieftain of the PDP, Hon. Seyi Damazio, said.

    Buoyed by these good turn of events in its favour that year, the PDP and its members looked forward to the 2019 Election with a mindset that given the party’s new popularity in the state, it is time to go for the kill. According to party chieftains, membership of its various local government and ward chapters across the state doubled between 2015 and early 2017. But today, the story, party sources revealed, is not actually the same again.

     

    Unending crises

    Unfortunately for PDP, its fortunes in Lagos State have been on the decline since early 2017. Rather than take advantage of the victories it garnered in 2015 and put its house in order, the party continued with the intra-party bickering that had kept it on its kneels since the very formation of the party in the state. Party chieftains battled for control of party machineries while party members were left without directions almost immediately after the 2015 General Elections.

    While admitting that the fortunes of the party are on the decline once again in the state, Hon. Moshood Adegoke Salvador blamed the many problems of the PDP in Lagos on indiscipline. He concluded that unless and until party members and chieftains subscribe to party discipline, the PDP will not be able to achieve its aim of winning elections in the state.

    “Unity and forgiveness are some of the most important requirements that PDP needs to ascertain victory in the coming election. It is absolutely impossible to expect victory while you keep spoiling your party for no reason. Let us be loyal to PDP and not individuals. Let’s love PDP and win together in Lagos State. Don’t allow results of congresses to disturb our affection because governance is more important than party offices,” he said.

    But rather than heed his advice, leaders of the party had continued the infighting, especially after the last December National Convention of the party, where some chieftains of the party failed to get elected into offices they sought. The chairmanship ambitions of Tunde Adeniran, Bode George and Jimi Agbaje, according to party sources, further divided the Lagos State chapter of the party.

    “In spite of effort to harmonise our positions and agree on how best to move the party forward, some recent developments have worked against unity in Lagos PDP. One of such is the failed attempt by the Southwest zone to produce the national chairman of the party at the December convention. The ambition of some of our leaders further divided us and we are still working hard to heal the wounds,” a party source said.

    The Nation gathered that the camp of George, which has since he lost at the national convention, been unusually passive within the party, are miffed by the decision of some members of the chapter, to support other aspirants instead of throwing their weight behind him and giving his chairmanship ambition the much needed home support he was banking on then.

    “Though we are working hard to address the issues, it is a known fact that the decision of some of our leaders to abandon Chief George in the chairmanship race and support other aspirants, particularly from other states, divided us a lot. We had George and Agbaje in the race at a point. Yet, we could not bring ourselves to support our own in such a crucial race. That was really bad,” our source said.

    Worried about the situation within the party, a former Minister of Works, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe, recently warned that the party would not realise its objective of winning the state in 2019 if members work at cross purposes. The worried party chieftain, while lamenting that the party should focus its attention on forthcoming elections instead of bickering, urged members to work together for the progress of the party in the state.

     

    Troubling defections

    As if to add to the troubles of the embattled PDP chapter, the party, in recent time, has been bedeviled with crippling defections of its leading members to the ruling APC. “The defection of some of our shinning lights is, for now, our greatest headache,” Wale Falade, a chieftain of the party and former state executive committee member in the Action Alliance (AA), said.

    He was however quick to add that the party has found a way of stopping its members from leaving the party ahead of the 2019 elections. “Such defections will not happen again,” he said last month after a group of party members in Ikeja Local Government Area dumped the PDP for APC. “We have found out why our members are leaving and we have plugged the holes,” he boasted.

    But it seems the PDP got it wrong. Last Tuesday, another frontline chieftain of the party and a former commissioner in the state, Chief Mrs. Remi Adiukwu, left the PDP for APC, saying her defection was motivated by the sterling performance of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode and the orderliness in the ruling party. “I am back in the party, when I say I am back, I am actively back. We will do all within our strength to deliver back to APC all the slots and mandates we took to PDP during the 2015 election.

    “My sojourn away from the party was based on principle just as my return today is encouraged today by the same principle of supporting only good things that will be beneficial to Lagos. Here in Oshodi-Isolo, PDP is now dead and we must not hear anything about PDP again. We are the ones who led PDP to victory here in 2015 and we are now back home to return the victory to APC,” she said.

    Rejoicing over Adiukwu’s defection, the Chairman of APC in Oshodi Local Government, Olamide Kasali, said the ruling party knows her strength politically, given her role in the 2015 elections. “She is the backbone of PDP in the council. With mama now with us, the fear of APC during elections is gone as the development marks an end to the opposition in the council,” Kasali said as he presented APC flag to Adiukwu.

    To Bolaji Muse-Ariyo, executive chairman of the council, the defection would make things easier for the council as the returnee will support the administration with her wealth of political experience. “And I am particularly happy that she is not just another defector, she is one of the most respected and connected politicians in Lagos State today. Her defection simply means there is no PDP here again,” he said.

    Few months before Adiukwu’s move, six, out of the eight PDP lawmakers at the State House of Assembly, have officially announced their defection to APC. The defection was announced through a letter addressed to the Speaker of the House, Mr. Mudashiru Obasa, titled; “Letter of Defection from PDP To APC.” It was signed by the defectors excluding the Minority Leader, who announced his defection on the floor of the House.

    The defectors included the Minority Leader, Akeem Bello (Amuwo Odofin II), Minority Whip, Mosunmola Sangodara (Surulere II), and Olusola Sokunle (Oshodi/Isolo I). Others were Jude Idimogu (Oshodi/Isolo II), Dayo Famakinwa (Ajeromi Ifelodun II) and Oluwa Fatai (Ajeromi/Ifelodun I). The two PDP lawmakers left in the opposition were Victor Akande (Ojo I) and Dipo Olorunrinu (Amuwo-Odofin I).

    Shortly after, one of the two remaining PDP lawmakers in the House, Victor Akande, jumped ship and joined the APC, leaving only Olorunrinu, who has vowed to remain the last man standing for his party in the House, as the lone PDP lawmaker.

    And when we recall that former Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, had also returned to the fold of APC not too long ago, the plight of the opposition PDP would be better appreciated. He dumped the PDP after much speculations of his formal declaration for the APC for months until it finally came to pass at a rally in Lagos. These defections, pundits and political observers said, have further weakened the chances of the PDP as the 2019 elections approach.