Allow PDP to survive, South-West party officials tell Sheriff group

THE South-West Zonal Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called on the members of the Sheriff group to leave the party to survive after it had been declared illegal by several courts in the land, commending the judiciary for coming out to redeem its name by giving judgments that will discourage people from taking advantage of the system in future.

It maintained that though the PDP had different mechanisms to resolve differences within the party, some people had chosen to rush to the courts, noting that if they were not working with outsiders to destroy the party, they should “go no further than they already have.”

This was just as the committee condemned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) for their complicity in the Ondo governorship election, noting that the manner INEC conducted the election and the voter inducement by APC posed danger to democracy.

Making these statements after a meeting of the committee, which had in attendance the zonal executive led by the National Vice Chairman of the party in the South-West, Dr Eddy Olafeso; zonal scribe, Revd. Bunmi Jenyo, among other zonal officials and state chairmen of the party, Olafeso said the South-West PDP would soon hold a stakeholders’ conference to chart the way forward for the party.

The zonal leadership of the party also said it was untrue that the PDP had suspended or expelled a former deputy governor of Osun State, Senator Iyiola Omisore, former governor of Ogun State, Chief Gbenga Daniel and Honourable Ladi Adebutu as well as the state chairmen of the party in the Osun and Ogun states, Dr Bayo Faforiji and Mr Sikirulai Ogundele, among others, saying such decision was a figment of the imagination of “divisive elements in the South-West PDP.”

While addressing newsmen after the meeting, Olafeso maintained that the PDP remained strong in the South-West despite the challenges it faced, adding that the party was ready to provide effective opposition to the lacklustre government of the APC, “which is showing Nigerians hell and making lives difficult for them.”

“We reviewed the Ondo State election and we condemn the complicity of APC and INEC and the way and manner the election was conducted. We noticed how “see and buy” strategy, whereby the APC induced voters and the recklessness with which it was done on the Election Day.”

The zonal leadership further maintained that the party would soon hold its convention to choose its leaders, saying: “We want to move forward as quickly possible to ensure we provide a formidable opposition to this lacklustre government in the country, a government that is giving hell to the ordinary man on the street. You can imagine, Christmas is coming but there is so much poverty and hardship. There is nothing to show that there is hope; there are no policies to fall back on. PDP will now provide an alternative platform; we will advise them if they will listen and we will connect with the Nigerian people again.”