Chairman, Lagos State chapter of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr Adegbola Dominic, has enjoined leaders and members to start building the party structure from now ahead of 2023 to enable it to wrestle power from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.
This was just as he declared that the party showed no sign of winning the last governorship poll in the state, but was prepared fully for the presidential election.
Dominic said this in the speech he delivered at the party’s stakeholder’s parley, which took place at the PDP secretariat at Sogunle, Ikeja and was attended by elders and leaders, 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’s former state chairman, Captain Tunji Selleh, among others, among others.
“We have to start building the structure now ahead of the 2023 election,” the PDP chieftain said.
“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.
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.
Dominic also said that ahead of 2023 elections, the state chapter of PDP would, in line with the consensus reached among elders and leaders of the party, be restructured and administered on basis of 57LGAs as being operated by the ruling APC and other parties as against the 20LGAs, which currently applied in PDP.
Lagos State House of Assembly, it will be recalled had approved 20 local government areas and 37LCDAs for the state, an approval signed into law by the state governor, but which up till now did not receive the blessing of the National Assembly and, therefore, not contained in the country’s constitution.
Speaking further, Dr Dominic declared that there was no crisis rocking the Lagos PDP, contrary to the 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 harass 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.
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