The Nation Newspaper

Tag: South west PDP

  • Southwest PDP Chairman to Fayose: Your meeting with party men illegal

    The Southwest zonal leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described the meeting held by the Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, with some party leaders in Ado-Ekiti on Monday as illegal.

    The PDP zonal leadership in a statement signed by its chairman, Chief Makanjuola Ogundipe, said the governor overstepped the boundary of his power by allowing his alleged inordinate ambition to push him to summon the meeting.

    The statement read: “The attention of the South West Zonal leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been drawn to a purported meeting of the South West PDP held today (Monday) in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, at the instance of Governor Ayo Fayose.

    “Ordinarily, any action by a character like Governor Ayo Fayose does not deserve a response from a responsible quarter.  But, for record purposes, it is important to point out that Fayose is the big shame bedeviling the PDP family, especially in the South West.

    “Fayose’s action in summoning a meeting he lacks the right to call at a time when well-meaning leaders and elders are calling for restraint and reconciliation is most despicable. Otherwise, how do we describe his action and utterances under the guise of a non-existent and illegal South West PDP leaders’ forum? In what capacity did he call the meeting of South West PDP leaders? Can a Governor call a zonal PDP leaders meeting? Has he been able to call a full meeting of the PDP Governors’ Forum which he purports to lead? We thank God that most of the respectable leaders of our party in the South West shunned the illegal gathering.

    “It is most ridiculous that Fayose has become a slave to his inordinate ambition, and for that reason he must destroy an otherwise solid and responsible institution like the PDP. He must be reminded that he was the least qualified to be Ekiti Governor when he was foisted on the party and the people of the state. Most of those who fell for his trick of being a better and more mature person are now full of regrets.

    “At the height of his executive rascality, Fayose would throw every rule of the game to the rubbish bag as long as he continues to dwell in his fool’s Paradise. He denigrates the judiciary when a judgment or ruling does not favour him. Yet, this same funny character seeks succour from the same institution that he vilifies with reckless abandon. It is only an unbalanced character that switches like this.

    “I wish to state that Fayose, Eddy Olafeso and his co-travellers are clearly in contempt of the subsisting judgment and orders of‎ Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt Division and the Federal High Court, Lagos.

    “While the Court of Appeal sacked the Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led Caretaker Committee and set aside everything that was purportedly done at the botched 21st of May, 2016 National Convention, the Federal High Court, Lagos, in a judgment delivered on the 17th of May, 2016 specifically nullified the purported zonal congress that was said to have produced Olafeso and his gang and proclaimed that the tenure of my exco remains till October, 2018.”

     

     

  • South-West PDP: Flock without shepherds?

    South-West PDP: Flock without shepherds?

    Since the last general elections, when the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lost the presidential seat to the All Progressives Congress (APC), the crisis that contributed to its failure has deepened in the South-West as Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan, reports that the party members in the zone are now like flock without shepherds

    The embattled Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the South-West is not new to crisis, but its current state, according to observers and party sources, leaves much to be desired from a party whose national leadership is daily vowing to return to electoral prominence sooner than most Nigerians expect.

    The party in the zone has been bedeviled by internal wrangling and power tussle since 2005. Its zonal structure has been subjected to constant changes as chieftains and caucuses struggle for control. The state chapters are not left out of the confusion as the party in Lagos, Ondo, Oyo and Ekiti states witnessed and are still witnessing unending divisions.

    In spite of several efforts by party leaders, including the then President, Goodluck Jonathan, to mend the severely broken fences within the zone, the party went into the last general elections divided. Dozens of reconciliation meetings held in Ibadan, Lagos, Ijebu Igbo, Abuja and Akure could not resolve the numerous crises in the party.

    And shortly before the elections, its troubled zonal leadership under Chief Ishola Filani, was again booted out and all efforts to put another one in place failed. Filani, according to reliable party sources, lost out due to his loyalty to former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

    Thus, it went into the electoral contest without an arrowhead. Not even the move by Jonathan to recognize Senator Buruji Kashamu as the new leader of the party in the zone helped matters. And PDP paid dearly for the glaring disunity as it was roundly defeated in all the states except Ekiti, where the coming of Governor Ayodele Fayose saved the day.

    Still in disarray

    Today, the situation in the South-West, among PDP chieftains and members, is that of flock without shepherd. According to Alhaji Saka Adebayo, senatorial executive committee member in Oyo State, “PDP in the South-West is an orphan currently. We have no known or identifiable leader or leaders. There is urgent need for something to happen fast.”

    And with the exit of former President Jonathan, the man who used to mediate in the unending crises, from power, the embattled opposition party is in serious search of a lifeline in the South-West.

    Nearly six months after the last general election, the party is still without a zonal leadership. It appears no effort is being made to put one in place. Even the national leadership that postponed the zonal congress ’till further notice’ shortly before the election, appears uninterested in the delicate matter of giving the party a leadership in the zone.

    “We have no zonal structure as we speak. The zonal congress, you will recall, was postponed before the last general election. Now, nobody is even talking about it. But I want to believe the issue will be addressed soon because without leadership, the party will lack direction,” a leading female party chieftain in Lagos, told The Nation.

    “Senator Buruji Kashamu, who used to be the rallying point, is no longer as visible as he was. He really tried to galvanise the party towards the last election, but since his extradition issue started, he has had little or no time for the PDP in the South-West. Don’t also forget he is now an elected Senator with responsibility to his constituents,” she added.

    But Kashamu’s current disposition was not before some effort to mobilise his troubled party. According to party sources, after the party’s dismal performance in the 2015 elections, the Ijebu-Igbo-born politician called a stakeholders’ meeting to fashion a way forward.

    “But prominent PDP leaders stayed away from the parley. They questioned his right to call such meeting. They went to town and called on party members to shun the meeting. Although the meeting held, it was devoid of the presence and contribution of many prominent PDP leaders in the zone,” our source said.

    Consequently, the Senator was said to have decided to look the other way on party matters affecting the zone for now as he was said to have told some of his friends that his senatorial duties are the most important to him right now. And given his ongoing extradition struggle, it is not likely he is able to provide leadership for his troubled party.

    More troubles in states

    In Oyo State, chieftains and members loyal to the governorship candidate of the party in the state, Senator Teslim Folarin, have vowed never to have anything to do with some prominent leaders of the party they accused of working against Folarin’s governorship ambition. To them, such people should remain suspended from the party.

    Those deliberately being kept out of the party by Folarin’s group include former minister of state for the Federal Capital Territory, Oloye Jumoke Akinjide, and Chief Saka Balogun, former chief of staff during the administration of former governor Alao Akala, as well as their numerous supporters.

    The duo, along with many other leading chieftains, were suspended from the party after the general election by the state executive committee on allegations that they engaged in anti-party activities before, during and after the governorship election in the state.

    In Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel and Senator Kashamu are still at loggerheads and as such, there are two factions of the party in the state. Kashamu had emerged as the candidate of the party in Ogun East Senatorial District to the chagrin of Daniel who was earlier tipped for the position.

    This caused crisis in the party before the election, but because of the desire of the party to ensure that it won the election, they both agreed to work together. As we speak, the two gladiators are struggling to control the party while party members and chieftains wallow in confusion.

    Lagos State is another state in the South-West where the crisis in the PDP is still deep and all the warring factions are still not prepared to sheath their swords. The Musliu Obanikoro group and the Chief Bode George camp are still at loggerheads. The Obanikoro group still believed that their action against George and others still stands though the national body of the party had ruled against it. The situation on ground now indicates that the two groups are still not working together.

    In Ondo State, Governor Mimiko, who joined the PDP from the Labour Party which brought him into power, is still battling to silence those he met in the party. Although his group is now in control of the party, he is daily harangued by the faction loyal to Olusola Oke, governorship candidate of the party in the last election, who recently decamped to the APC.

    Missing Jonathan’s men

    To add to the hopelessness of the situation for the embattled party, The Nation learnt that nearly all party chieftains from the zone, who served as ministers in the last administration are currently keeping the party at arm’s-length.

    “None of the former ministers is doing anything to help resuscitate the party in the zone. They are all minding their own businesses as if it was not this same party that gave them the opportunity to serve the country. We even learnt some of them are planning to decamp soon,” a party source said.

    The PDP parades a number of prominent chieftains who were part of the last administration. But nothing has been heard from any of them in recent time concerning how to reposition the party.

    Such chieftains include ageing Senator Jubril Martins Kuye from Ogun State. He is said to have vowed to stay away from the mess created in the party by the feud between Kashamu and Daniel. There is also Navy Captain Caleb Olubolade (rtd) in Ekiti. He is one of those battling Fayose for the control of the party in that state.

    Ex-ministers Segun Aganga and Omobolanle Johnson from Lagos and Ondo states respectively, according to party sources, are nowhere to be found within the political circle. “This is expected of them both. Don’t forget they were not politicians but technocrats,” a party chieftain excused the duo’s attitude.

    Others being accused of abandoning the PDP in the zone include Erelu Olusola Obada and Jelili Adesiyan in Osun, Musiliu Obanikoro and Bode George in Lagos and Jumoke Akinjide in Oyo. “One would expect these people to be concerned about the party, but they are not,” another source added.

    With the current unsavoury state of PDP in the South-West, political observers are wondering if the party is serious about its quest to return to winning ways in no distant time.

  • Confusion in South-West PDP over ministerial nominees, 2015 polls

    Confusion in South-West PDP over ministerial nominees, 2015 polls

    Of the six zonal chapters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the South West zone appears to be the most crisis-prone if the controversies over the list of new ministerial nominees and the 2015 governorship election are anything to go by, reports Assistant Editor, Remi Adelowo

    The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Presidency appear to be losing patience with its South-West zonal chapter over the seeming intractable crisis that has bedeviled the party in the last couple of years, The Nation has reliably gathered.

    The latest crisis confronting the party in the zone, it was learnt, is not unconnected to the list of ministerial nominees sent to the Presidency; its inability to elect a substantive National Vice Chairman almost four months after the party’s national convention held in Abuja, and the dearth of viable candidates to fly the party’s flag for the 2015 governorship election.

    Sources disclosed that while other zones across the country have reached a consensus on the list of new ministerial nominees sent to the Presidency, a couple of weeks ago, chieftains of the South-West PDP are still allegedly engaged in a war of attrition over who should fill the zone’s slot, which became vacant following the sacking of Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru as the Minister of Foreign Affairs by President Goodluck Jonathan.

    The battle on who gets the slot, according to sources, is fiercer between the Lagos, Ogun and Osun states chapters of the party, as leading figures in each of these states have been allegedly engaged in an extensive underground lobbying in order to swing the pendulum in their favour.

    What has further compounded the issue is based on an unconfirmed report that Jonathan has not yet made up his mind on who is to be picked out of the 18 nominees comprising of three names each from the six South-West states that was sent to the Presidency.

    For instance, the Lagos and Osun states chapters of the party sometime ago, engaged in a war of words over the suitability of its nominees, with each chapter putting up arguments over which state should produce the new minister from the zone.

    While a chieftain of the party in Lagos State, Chief Olabode George, has been allegedly canvassing for a member of the party in the state to be appointed as minister, the Osun State chapter is also throwing up reasons why its alleged nominee, Chief Olu Adeniji, who is currently the Chairman of the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA), should replace Ambassador Ashiru in the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

    Election of National Vice Chairman still uncertain

    With no substantive National Vice Chairman to pilot the affairs of the party in the zone and fight for its interests at the national level, the South-West PDP is heavily paying the price of disunity much to the displeasure of concerned party members.

    Some months ago, following the expiration of the tenure of the interim executives of the zone, led by Chief Ishola Filani, five of the six chapters of the party in the South-West namely Ogun, Osun, Oyo, Ekiti and Ondo, resolved to elect Filani as the substantive boss of the party in the zone.

    This decision, it was learnt, was opposed by Chief Olabode George, who allegedly lobbied a powerful aide of the President to prevail on the National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, to suspend the election of the National Vice Chairman for the South-West indefinitely.

    Sources alleged that having come to the conclusion that his anointed candidate for the position had no chance against Filani, George allegedly convinced the national headquarters of the party to put in place another interim executive that would pilot the affairs of the party.

    However, this arrangement which brought in Engineer Adedeji Doherty as the interim National Vice Chairman rather than foster stability for the party in the zone has become an albatross of sorts.

    Though known to be a committed party man, many members are alleging that Doherty lacks the stature to unify the party, which has been torn apart as a result of mutual distrust among its key stakeholders.

    The battle for 2015 governorship tickets

    Just some months away to the 2014 governorship election in Osun and Ekiti states, the PDP, despite its open bravado that it was set to dislodge the All Progressives Congress-led administrations in the states, is strewn in an internal crisis, particularly among its governorship aspirants.

    In Osun, about ten aspirants have indicated their interests in the governorship race. They include Chief Iyiola Omisore; a former Minister for Youth Development, Olasunkanmi Akinlabi and the former National Vice Chairman of the party in the South-West, Alhaji Tajudeen Oladipo, to mention but a few. Another name being widely touted is that of a former Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Fatai Akinbade, who unconfirmed reports have it, may dump the PDP for the Labour Party (LP) to pursue his governorship aspiration.

    Many observers are eagerly looking forward to how the Osun PDP will pick its 2015 governorship ticket, even as there are strong indications that many of the aspirants may not work with Omisore, who allegedly controls the party structures and may likely clinch the governorship ticket.

    The case of Oyo State is even more complicated. The reported interest of a former governor of the state, Adebayo Alao-Akala, to return to the seat he vacated in 2011 is generating ripples within the party.

    Until recently, Akala was allegedly gearing up to contest for the Oyo North senatorial seat presently being occupied by Hosea Agboola.

    What prompted the change of mind is not clear yet, but The Nation gathered that Akala’s ambition may further polarise the party down the line, as he is known not to be on good terms with other party stakeholders including the former Senate Leader and also a governorship aspirant, Teslim Folarin, Senator Lekan Balogun, Wole Oyelese, amongst others.

    But in spite of this seeming obstacle, the former governor is allegedly not looking back. Just a few days ago, his scheduled visit to the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, apparently on a fence mending mission was cancelled at the last minute at the instance of the monarch.

    In the run-up to the 2011 general elections, Akala and Oba Adeyemi fell apart, a factor many argue, contributed largely to the latter’s loss at the polls. In the four local governments within Oyo, Akala lost to the then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) candidate, Abiola Ajimobi, who eventually won the governorship contest.

    Ekiti State not different

    Arguably the state with the longest list of governorship aspirants in the South-West PDP, the scenario in Ekiti State is also quite unpredictable.

    The recent endorsement of a former deputy governor of the state, Chief Abiodun Aluko, by some stakeholders of the party has not gone down well with other aspirants, including Mr. Ayo Fayose, Dayo Adeyeye, Gbenga Aluko and others.

    The larger than life image of the Minister for Police Affairs, Caleb Olubolade, who is also allegedly interested in the 2015 governorship is also another issue that will likely crop up when the PDP primaries get under way.

    Ogun State, a bit stable

    Though no notable member of the Ogun PDP has declared his intention to challenge the incumbent governor, Ibikunle Amosun, at the polls, what is not in doubt, however, is that whoever gets the endorsement of the party’s major financier, Prince Buruji Kashamu, has a good chance of clinching the party’s ticket.

    But the nonchalant disposition of former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, to the affairs of the party is giving some members a cause for concern. Having lost out in the control of the party both at the state and national levels, the former President, many fear, may work against the interests of the party when the chips are down.

    Jonathan’s pact with Mimiko

    How true is the rumoured pact between President Goodluck Jonathan and the Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko?

    This is the big question being asked among members of the South-West PDP, many of whom are alleging that the Presidency may have decided to hand-over the speculated re-election campaign of the President in the zone to Mimiko.

    The President’s decision, according to sources, is allegedly premised on the notion that major leaders of the PDP in the South-West cannot be relied upon to deliver the goods in 2015.

    Due to the numerous challenges confronting it at the moment, the South-West no doubt has a lot on its plate ahead the 2015 general elections.

  • S’West PDP Youths Slam Bode George

    S’West PDP Youths Slam Bode George

    The former Chairman of the Board of the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), Chief Olabode George, has been criticised for “his divisive and self-serving politics” as it relates to the activities of the Chief Ishola Filani-led Caretaker Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the South West.

    In an open letter to the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, the South West PDP Youth Vanguard, urged the party leadership to call George to order over his “surreptitious moves to throw the party in the zone into another round of fresh crisis”.

    The group frowned at George’s opposition to the decision of the Extra-Ordinary Session of the South West Congress to nominate a replacement for Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola in accordance with the provisions of Part 7 VII, Section 28, Subsection 3, 4 and 5 of the party’s constitution and the order of the Federal High Court in Suit No. Suit No FHC/ABJ/C8/504/2012.

    In the 15th July, 2013 letter, which was signed by the President and Secretary of the group, Alhaji Akeem Salami and Mr. Kayode Joseph, the group wondered “how Bode George succeeded in snatching a position zone to Osun State by single-handedly facilitating the appointment of one Dr. Remi Akintoye from Lagos State as acting National Secretary of PDP.”

    “In a saner clime, someone like Bode George, an ex-convict, is supposed to take the back seat. Or is it not said that those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones? One would have thought that given his recent experiences, Chief George would be more circumspect in his dealings. It is high time he knew that public institutions and organisations are not to be treated as personal estates where one sits in the comfort of his house or office to call the shots.

    “If nothing else, his odyssey over the contract inflation and splitting at the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) should have at least made him more temperate. Whereas elsewhere, those who have had similar experiences as theirs draw useful lessons that guide them all through life, ours is the exact opposite. And like someone said it does speak to the reformative nature of our penitentiary system,” the letter read in part.

    The group, however, commended one of the leaders of the party in the zone, Prince Buruji Kashamu, “for his selfless efforts at re-positioning the party in the zone.”

    It urged the national leadership of the party “to identify, empower and encourage such leaders of the party across the length and breadth of the country; not serial losers.”

  • South West PDP endorses Jonathan for second term

    The South West chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, on Tuesday endorsed President Goodluck Jonathan for a second term in 2015.

    This is contained in a communiqué signed by the Chairman, South West Caretaker Committee of the PDP, Chief Ishola Filani at the end of the committee’s meeting.

    The forum said it endorsed Jonathan because of his leadership qualities and transformation efforts.

    “After carefully x-raying the President’s qualities and in view of the fact that he is constitutionally qualified to seek re-election, the forum unanimously endorsed him for a second term in 2015,” the communiqué said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that it also passed a vote of confidence in the transformation agenda of Jonathan and the leadership role of the National Chairman of the PDP.

    The forum also passed same on the PDP National Working Committee, as well as its Zonal Caretaker Committee.

    The forum commended the President on the measures so far taken in combating the current security challenges in the country.

    The meeting agreed that former President Olusegun Obasanjo should be the grand patron of the PDP in the South West.

    It agreed to work as an entity for the success of the PDP in all forthcoming elections in Nigeria, starting with the 2014 governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun, to the presidential and general elections in 2015.

     

     

  • S/West PDP denies plotting Tambuwal, Onwe’s removal

    S/West PDP denies plotting Tambuwal, Onwe’s removal

    The South-west chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned a report in a section of the media about purported moves by the party to remove the Speaker of House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal and the Acting National Secretary, Rt. Hon. Onwe S. Onwe, from office.

    In a statement issued by its Publicity Secretary, Waheed Lawal, the party described the report as “fabricated and misleading.”

    The statement reads in part: “We are constrained to express disgust at reports making the round in a section of the Nigerian media which suggest that members of the party in the South-west geographical zone at a reconciliatory parley held in Ibadan had resolved to remove Speaker Aminu Tambuwal and acting National Secretary, Rt. Hon. Onwe S. Onwe.”

    Lawal said such deliberations did not form part of the interactions with party leaders and stakeholders at the meeting.

    “The report is disturbing and everything a fair report should not be. For the avoidance of doubt, the main agenda for the meeting was how to reconcile aggrieved members of the party in order to strengthen and reposition the party in the South-west. We wish to note with gladness that tremendous success was recorded in the reconciliatory efforts during the National Chairman’s visit.”