A RENEWED move by the presidential running mate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and governor of Delta State, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, to resolve the crisis among key stakeholders in Osun State has failed again, Nigerian Tribune learnt on Wednesday.
The peace effort was meant to pave the way by the Osun State leaders of the party to present a united front at a major rally of PDP ahead of the governorship election taking place in the state on July 16, 2023.
The reconciliation move was the third in the last two weeks by Governor Okowa over the protracted crisis in the party following the conduct of primary to decide the candidate of PDP for the election next week Saturday.
The first effort hit a brick wall as only one of the camps sent representatives to the meeting convened by the governor in Abuja to find a truce to the crisis.
A similar meeting was scheduled by Okowa for last weekend in Abuja, but it was shifted to Lagos due to an excuse by a close ally of Senator Ademola Adeleke, recognised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the PDP candidate, that he had a very important appointment for the weekend.
But the rescheduled meeting was aborted because only one of the camps in the protracted dispute sent representatives.
Okowa met with a former governor of the state and ex-national secretary of the PDP, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola on Sunday at about 10 am in Lagos before he left for France.
The camp of Prince Dotun Babayemi, who emerged from a parallel primary, has a matter in the Court of Appeal on the disputed primary.
The larger meeting scheduled for 1.00 pm could not hold because neither of the claimants to the ticket of the party was available.
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Undaunted, however, Okowa has resolved to convey another peace meeting shortly before the election holds next week with the hope that the various tendencies will see the need for compromise in the interest of the PDP.
There were indications last night that some main stakeholders of the party from the state may boycott the rally coming up today to shore up the chances of the party in the poll.
It was gathered that a number of the elders met on Wednesday and resolved to stay away from the event because of “unresolved issues, including a litigation over the ticket of the PDP for the election.”
Meanhwile, the PDP special reconciliation committee on Osun and Lagos states has submitted its report to the national leadership of the party, saying that the warring groups have resolved to work together for the victory of the party in the forthcoming governorship election.
The chairman of the committee and former Ekiti State governorship candidate of the party, Eyitayo Jegede, submitted the one-volume interim report on Osun State at the national secretariat of the party in Abuja on Wednesday.
He said the committee had to concentrate on Osun State alone in view of the nearness of the governorship election.
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