Grappling with leadership crisis in Southwest PDP

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is working hard to fix the leadership crisis in its Southwest zone. The National Working Committee (NWC) had to postpone the regional congress scheduled for March 6 2021 in Ibadan Oyo State.

Few days to the postponed congress, the peace committee set up by the Waddata House in Abuja, headed by former Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, held several meetings with the leaders of the camps, the committee also met with former President Olusegun Obasanjo, in Abeokuta to discuss how the issues could be resolved.
 
But realising that the factions involved in the crisis were unwilling to shift ground but insisted on holding parallel congresses; the NWC was forced to postpone the zonal congress to allow the Saraki committee look for acceptable solutions.
  
The dominant area of disagreement is who between Oyo State Governor, Mr. Seyi Makinde and former Governor Ayo Fayose, is the leader of the party in the zone.

Although some have argued that Makinde, being the only governor the party produced in the zone should naturally be seen and regarded as the zonal leader, the idea has not gone down well with Fayose, who described Makinde as a “baby governor”. The former governor of Ekiti believed Makinde has not displayed political experience to be entrusted with such regional responsibility.
 
Fayose did not mince words as he warned Makinde not to dabble into the crisis between him and Senator Abiodun Olujimi on who leads Ekiti PDP. Although Olujimi, who currently represents Ekiti South Senatorial district is regarded as the highest political office holder in the state, but the former governor has refused to reckon with that fact.
 
But Makinde and his supporters threw tantrums back at Fayose, labeling him (Fayose) as a political merchant, who is bent on gaining leadership control of Southwest PDP to negotiate himself out of the EFCC’s net. They also accused Fayose of warming up to support the 2023 presidential ambition of the National Leader of APC, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu.
 
Although Fayose has declared that he will not join APC, he has, severally defended assault against Tinubu, whom he regarded as a Yoruba leader that should not be persecuted like the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, on the altar of national politics.
 
Fayose admitted that, “there has been a reasonable cold war over who becomes the executive of the zone. Governor Makinde has demanded that the zonal executive be sacked and a caretaker be fostered on the zone, which the party did.
 
“But since the caretaker committee came into being, he has not allowed them to function because he produced the chairman. Beyond that, the fact that there is a sitting governor does not say I should go to another man’s state. I’m not asking that the congress takes place in my state; if you come to my state, I will face you squarely. I will continue to respect him because he is my brother; I love him so much and I was part of his emergence.”
 
Speaking on the causes of the crises, Makinde said: “They told me that one of our leaders has been the major individual causing trouble in the South-West and we deliberated to ask why that is so; and we said maybe because of the EFCC case or something like that.

“I said that shouldn’t be, because it is better to stay with your own party. Even if you have the EFCC case, like former Governor of Plateau State, Joshua Dariye and Reverend Jolly Nyame and Taraba, who defected to APC with the aim to escape EFCC case, they ended up in jail. Even Governor Orji Uzor Kalu, it was only God that brought him out.

“So, that leader should forget about the EFCC case and do what is right for the party. Because I will just say it, for 2023, even God has rejected APC; the people of Nigeria have rejected them. They can be jumping around saying this one or that one wants to be president in 2023, if we (PDP) get in, there will be double jeopardy for him because he will have to run back from APC to PDP.”

“As far as we are concerned, the former governor, being a decampee from the APC, is on his own because no one can be a judge in his own case.”
  
The zonal executive called on PDP members in the Southwest to shun any meeting called by Prince Oyinlola and cautioned him “to be mindful of bringing APC’s divide and rule culture to the PDP.”
  
They however set a parallel peace committee for the purpose of reconciliation and settlement of all other sundry issues. The committee is led by Engineer Femi Babalola, with Chief Kolapo Ogunjobi, Barrister Ahmed Okandeji Mustapha, Chief Idowu Odeyemi and Chief Tunde Akindehin as members, while the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the party, Prince Diran Odeyemi, is the secretary.

The zone also mandated the Babalola-led reconciliation committee to work in collaboration with the National Reconciliation Committee set up by the NWC of the party.
  
Makinde’s aide, Dare Adeleke cautioned Fayose not to drag Oyinlola’s name in the mud and called on the NWC to warn the former governor of Ekiti not to destabilise the party to the advantage of the opposition.
 
According to him: “The power to suspend or remove an official in that position under the PDP Constitution lies with the National Executive Committee (NEC) specifically, the NWC on behalf of the NEC. One wonders if they have never read the Constitution or they are just a bunch of reckless mutineers.
 
“Ayo Fayose, in his greed for power and desperation to betray the party, is trying to balkanize the party and, in the process, turn the Southwest zone into a Banana Republic.

“It is bizarre and a misnomer for Fayose to bestow the position of zonal media coordinator on his ‘servant’ boy, Lere Olayinka. As a matter of fact, it is laughable. In what capacity does he have the right to appoint Olayinka as spokesperson?”
 
Another member of the committee, Mrs. Funmilayo Ogun also described Makinde as an accidental governor and a mistake that PDP would no longer make.

Ogun argued that by choosing to relate with individuals not recognised as State chairmen of PDP in Ekiti, Osun and Ogun states, Makinde is only saying that he is more powerful than the NEC and that as far as he is concerned, decisions of the NEC are not binding on him. She said it is a matter of concern to her that Governor Makinde could refer to the State Working Committee in Ekiti as “factional” despite being part of the NEC meeting where the congresses in Ekiti and other states where approved.
 
Adeleke denied that there was an agreement between Makinde and party leaders, to allow Olafeso return as zonal chairman. It is Fayose who thwarted the traditional zoning arrangements in the party. Eddy Olafeso, who was the former chairman in the zone, hails from Ondo while the National Treasurer Aribisala Adewale, was imposed on the party, when Fayose was governor in Ekiti.

Traditionally Ekiti and Ondo states share one position but with those two positions, they deprived the other four states of their rights. Normally, the treasurer is supposed to be given to Oyo. Fayose has proven to be a leader, who is determined to set his own house on fire.”
 
Another chieftain of the PDP, Alhaji Adebisi Olopoeyan berated those claiming that the crisis is aimed at destabilising the party, with the ultimate objective of rooting for Tinubu’s presidential ambition in 2023. Those behind the propaganda are mischievous and politically naive,” he said. 
 
He said the Olafeso faction held a meeting with Oyinlola and Balogun where they insisted that the agreement made with Olafeso to return to his office must be honoured.
  
According to him, “At the last meeting with Oyinlola, Balogun and others, we told them to tell Makinde that nobody is dragging the leadership of the party with him. But he must fulfill the agreement made in the party. We insisted on Olafeso as the zonal chairman of the party.

“We told them that in Ekiti State, they must pick two persons from the Abiodun Olujimi faction and Fayose faction.  And the same thing should be done in Oyo and Lagos States.”
 
Speaking on how to reposition the party, Fayose insisted that the erstwhile Information Commissioner in Ondo State, Olafeso, should be the next PDP National Vice Chairman Southwest. He disclosed that was agreed on earlier at Makinde’s house in Ibadan.