They ‘re jesters with no value to us, says Peretei

Ahead of the House of Assembly election in Ondo State on Saturday, a wave of defection has hit the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, with high-profile politicians dumping the party in droves.

With some chieftains of the party leaving for the All Progressives Congress (APC) last week, the former state Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Banji Okunomo, along with his supporters, yesterday, resigned their membership.

According to Okunomo, his resignation from the party was hinged on the “internal crisis, tyranny and leadership failure” within the PDP. Okunomo, who did not disclose the party that he will join, lashed out at the national leadership of the PDP over its alleged failure in the presidential election, stressing that the party seeking solutions at the court is like chasing a wild goose.

He said that the results of the presidential election reflected the wishes of people, saying that the party lost due to an unresolved leadership crisis. He said: “You said you wanted to unify Nigeria but failed to unify your party. Everything Wike and the G-5 governors said about the PDP is correct. The party ought not to zone the presidential ticket to the North.

“There is no spirit of inclusiveness and no sense of belonging. In Ondo State, the PDP leadership under Fatai Adams and Eyitayo Jegede cannot lead but wreck the party.

“We warn against this imminent failure, but the party failed to listen, and because they failed to heed our advice, they failed. In order not to be part of this charade, we announce our departure from the PDP to align with the verdict of the people in the last presidential election, and we will announce our destination.”

MEANWHILE, the party, in reaction to the defection, said that it would not lose sleep over the development. In a statement signed by its Publicity Secretary, Kennedy Peretei, the PDP said: “In the last 18 months, these same characters have moved in and out of the PDP twice, which is a confirmation of their nomadic essence as politicians.

“Most of them who got promotions beyond their capacities by the PDP have consistently lost their polling units to other political parties during elections.

“They have always been trailed by failure in their opportunistic and self-serving inordinate ambitions that drive their insatiable desire for crumbs from the master’s table.

“To put the record straight, Banji Okunomo, Solomon Bitire and their gang of court jesters declared that the PDP was dead in Ondo South shortly after the PDP governorship primary election in 2020. They defected to Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), but shamelessly returned to the PDP after their tragic outing, which was a measure of their political relevance.

“In all honesty, why should the PDP lose sleep over the exit of such colourless, inconsequential and serial defectors?

“It won’t be any surprise if they are treated as political prostitutes wherever they may go. Our party can only wish them the best of luck on their sojourn. In any case, any time they wish to come back, our doors are open. Now that they have established that, they are political herdsmen.”