The Deputy National Chairman (South) of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Dr Olu Agunloye, has disclosed that the party has started aggressive drives towards repositioning the party ahead of the 2020 governorship election in Ondo state to unseat the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC).
Agunloye who stated this while speaking with newsmen after a meeting with the party members and leaders in Akure, Ondo state capital, said the leadership of the party was poised to take over the reign of power from Rotimi Akeredolu in 2020.
He expressed optimism that SDP would form a formidable opposition to oust the ruling APC government in the state and form the next government, saying both the APC and PDP have failed the electorates.
Agunloye said: “We can assure you that SDP will present a candidate with the mind to win, and SDP will work very hard with the hope to win; and SDP will win the governorship election in Ondo State, come 2020 election.
“We want our members who are leader servants at the moment to start understanding that they belong to a party that is organising to win the election and has social justice and equity as a driving force.
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“So, they should go out there to evangelise, convince people and bring people into the party so that the party can come home with the victory in 2020 governorship election.”
Agunloye explained that the party has four points on its reorganisation agenda: reconciliation, streamlining, structure and recruitment/mobilisation.
He disclosed that the congress of the party would be held in February 2020 in order to out in place new executives who will steer the affairs of the party to take over the running of the party.
He said: “Today, we held a special meeting SDP in Ondo state and the meeting is with the reconciliation and development committee to let them ensure that they make maximum mobilisation into the party.
“We know at this time a lot of alignment and realignment are going to happen in Nigeria and we want to have more people into our party.
“The terms of reference of the committee include identifying aggrieved current and past party members, deploy conflict management mechanism, skills, and fact to reconcile them and get them back to the party.”
He added that the committee would recommend “practical methods” of sustaining reconciliation and development within the state chapter.
“It is also expected to identify pragmatic procedures for accomplishing re-organisation and streamlining of the party’s operations in accordance with the guidelines from the national headquarters.
“The NWC also expect the committee to accomplish massive recruitment of fresh members, especially youths and women across the state, through contact and mobilisation, promotion, publicity and propaganda.
“The national body equally expected the committee to accomplish generation of funds consistent with the relevant provisions of Article 17.1 of the constitution of the SDP, as amended, 2018.”
Meanwhile, the National Working Committee (NWC), had constituted a 29-man reconciliation and development committee to reconcile aggrieved party members in the state, which was headed by the former State Secretary, Olugbemi Ogunbameru, and Pastor Tunde Akinola as its Secretary.