OLD political relationships that went sour at the height of the reign of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in Oyo State became renewed on Thursday, as the National Caretaker Committee chairman of the party, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, led other members of the national caretaker committee to woo its hitherto estranged chieftains back into the fold.
Markafi, who was accompanied by Professor Jerry Gana, former governor of Ogun State, Gbenga Daniel; national vice chairman of the party, Dr Eddy Olafeso and others, visited former governors Rashidi Ladoja and Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, Mr Seyi Makinde, Chief Richard Akinjide, Chief Yekeen Adeojo and Senator Mojisoluwa Akinfenwa, who is the national chairman of the Alliance for Democracy (AD).
Speaking at Ladoja’s residence, which was his first port of call, Makarfi said he was in the state to bring back all the leaders who had hitherto dumped the party, in the task of wresting power from the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“Nigeria is at a crossroads and insecurity, joblessness, mutual suspicion of one another reign. Instead of going forward, we are going backwards. How did we get it wrong? We got it wrong when we split up and parted ways.
“The only way forward politically in Nigeria is that the only national and widespread party, PDP, should go back to the basics, to its formative stage, in order to bring all its sons and daughters back home, create a level-playing field and entrench internal party democracy.
“Ladoja is a great observer in the country. He loves Oyo State and Nigeria. In and out of power, he has always served the people and has never turned his back on them. We have come to Ibadan to take him back to where he belongs. Not only does the PDP need him, the people of Oyo State and Nigerians also need him in our march towards greatness,” he said.
Makarfi said he had the mandate of everybody in PDP, including the governors’ forum, the National Assembly caucus and the Board of Trustees (BoT), to bring him and others back to PDP, adding that he looked forward to, sooner than later, consummating the reason he came to Ibadan.
In response, Ladoja, who said he and others did not want to leave the PDP but were pushed out of the party, promised to return to the PDP with all his loyalists in the South-West if given amnesty and with the assurance of full integration and no discrimination.
“Accord leadership have held a stakeholders’ meeting. We are not taking going back to PDP very lightly. We want to get the assurance that we will be equal in the party and that all the years we have put in will count for ‘terminal benefit.’ There should be no discrimination,” he said.
The team proceeded to the Bodija residence of Alao-Akala who is holidaying abroad and were received on behalf of the former governor by Chief Wale Ohu, who said “though Alao-Akala is not with us in person, but his spirit is with us.”
He said: “Alao-Akala is still a factor in Oyo politics and this he has demonstrated by successfully leading a crop of tested and dedicated political camp, even since six years ago he left office as governor.
“When he comes, he will do due consultation with his people to take a final decision and will personally lead his team to a collective decision. On behalf of Chief Alao-Akala, we thank you for your recognition and dedication to bring back all stakeholders back to the party,” he said.
Daniel, who now heads the South-West reconciliation committee of the party, said the leadership had been in touch with Alao-Akala while abroad and expressed assurance that he would rejoin the PDP soon.
Governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the last election in the state, Makinde, while welcoming the team to his Ikolaba residence, disclosed that “he is 99 per cent in PDP,” having been part of the discussion about it at the national level.
“I am 99 per cent in PDP by now and one per cent in SDP. That one per cent is to have the assurance that we won’t be treated as returnees. We want that assurance given and we will go back to Chief Olu Falae and you can rest assured that the 99 per cent will become 100 per cent,” he said.
While receiving the team at his residence, Chief Akinjide charged the PDP leadership to end all skirmishes and come together to take “a critical decision, because Nigeria is in a critical period.”
Also speaking Chief Adeojo promised not to abandon PDP, adding that he had spoken with Ladoja, Alao-Akala and Makinde on the need for them to return to PDP and rebuild it.
Senator Akinfenwa, who also hosted the team, pledged to be part of any arrangement that would send APC out of government in 2019.
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