Lagos PDP elders, leaders rally to win 2023 poll

Ahead of 2023 General Elections, elders and leaders of Lagos State chapter of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Wednesday converged at the party secretariat in Sogunle, Ikeja emphasising the need for unity, discipline, mutual cooperation and understanding as well as forgiveness amongst members, saying the party needed to turn a new leaf to enable it win the coming poll in the state.

This was as the party’s stakeholders, including Dr. Remi Akitoye, a member of PDP Board of Trustees (BoT); former Minister of Health, Dr. Abimbola Ogunkelu; Chief (Mrs.) Onikepo Oshodi, the party state chairman, Dr. Adegbola Dominic; Captain Tunji Selleh, among others, endorsed move to restructured the PDP in the state and administer it on the basis of 57LGAs like the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and parties were doing as against 20LGAs on which it is currently being administered.

They also debunked report of crisis rocking the party, declaring that Otunba Segun Adewale aka Aeroland, who claimed to have taken over the party secretariat as chairman, having sacked the incumbent, Dr. Dominic, was not a PDP member and currently was having an issue to settle with the police.

Addressing the gathering of party elders and leaders, the former minister, Dr. Ogunkelu emphasised that the meeting was called to commence process of healing, bringing the party together, ensuring mutual forgiveness, cooperation and understanding ahead of 2023 elections, noting sadly that the party failed to win the just concluded poll in the state due to division amongst members.

“Division can’t bring us positive results. There should be self examination. What can we now do to bring us together, not about pointing accusing fingers at each other? We should be more concerned about what to do to win the 2023 elections. Let’s turn a new leaf and work together,” he said.

“We have to turn a new leaf. Everybody must work together to let the party take its rightful position, we have suffered a lot in the last 20years. There should be wind of change,” he added.

Also speaking, the party chairman, Dominic, in his remark, equally said Lagos needed to move on, declaring that the journey for 2023 must start now,  just as he said that he was of the belief that the state chapter of the party was not ready for the just concluded 2019 poll.

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“My own opinion is that we were not ready for 2019 elections. The presidential poll, yes, but for governorship election, we were not ready,” Dominic said, contending that the party structure was lacking and unlike what it achieved in the ruling APC for Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who was the party’s governorship candidate.

“We have to start building the structure now ahead of the 2023 election,” the PDP chieftain said.

To this end, he disclosed that based on consensus among stakeholders, all groups and factions were to be collapsed into one unified PDP structure, while internal democracy would now be institutionalised “by letting the people, and only the people, choose their party officers and other leaders at all levels.”

“Therefore, the practice of allotting or allocating party and other offices to individual leaders or groups or factions shall be abolished completely. Whoever wants to hold public office should seek such by himself or herself from the members at all levels, beginning from the ward,” he said.

Speaking further, Dr. Dominic declared that there was no crisis rocking the Lagos PDP, contrary to statement made by Otunba Adewale “announcing himself as the chairman of our party in Lagos State, claiming that he has sacked me and my executive committee and has taken over our secretariat.”

According to him, Adewale had led his men to terrorize and harassed party staff and visitors to the secretariat, saying the party reported the matter to the police authorities, leading to some arrests and a bail issue.

“They were eventually released on bail, and instructed to report back at the police station on Friday 5th April. I have reliable information that they did not report back as required. They are, therefore, now certainly being wanted by the police.”

“Let me assure you that a new era has begun in the PDP. There shall be zero tolerance for any acts of criminality, undiscipline or thuggery from any quarters whatsoever,” Dominic vowed.

“In the case of Segun Adewale, he is not a member of our party; and this has been repeatedly stated by the party leadership, including myself as the Lagos State chairman; Dr. Eddy Olafeso, national vice chairman; Elder Yemi Akinwunmi, the deputy national chairman, and our foremost leader in Lagos State, Chief Olabode George,” he added.

In his own remark, Dr. Akitoye, who is a BoT member of PDP, also buttressed Dominic, declaring: “It would never happen again that we give wrong people offices in the party.”

The party chieftain, while canvassing for genuine forgiveness and reconciliation in the party, prayed that the petition filed by the PDP presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, would succeed at the Tribunal and would finally be sworn in as the country’s next president.