Leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from Oredo Ward 1 in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State have dispelled the rumour that Governor Godwin Obaseki had perfected plans to dump the party.
This was just as they advised aggrieved members of the party not to provoke the governor to take drastic action that could be harmful to the party.
The leaders, who spoke at an enlarged PDP Oredo Ward 1 meeting on Wednesday, said that the speculation that Governor Obaseki had perfected plans to dump PDP was unfounded and should be disregarded.
The Edo PDP has been embroiled in internal wrangling in recent times following the clamour for the dissolution of the party’s executives at all levels in the state by those who joined the party in July last year when Obaseki dumped the All Progressive Congress (APC) and sought refuge in the PDP, which gave him the ticket for his second term bid.
The mainstream PDP members had maintained that the new entrants had to wait till the present executives served out their three-year term before any congress could be held.
One of the founding members of PDP in Oredo Local Government Area, Mr Goodluck Ehirobo, said: “We do not want him (Obaseki) to take another decision because if he does, it will be detrimental to all of us.
“If you want to have all, you will lose all. The reason why PDP has not always been wining in the past is that some leaders do not want anybody to be like them. When you join them, they feel threatened. Politics is a game of numbers. I want people to join us so that we can win,” he said in allusion to the hard stance of some leaders that the harmonisation agitation by some new members would lead to the dissolution of the present leadership.
Also speaking, another chieftain of the party in the ward, Mr Samson Abu, said that the governor could not be a mere spectator in the affairs of his party, hence the need for members to embrace ongoing integration and harmonisation in the party structures.
Abu added that “based on PDP constitution, the governor is the leader of PDP in Edo State,” warning, however, that “the quietness of a lion doesn’t symbolise signs of weakness.”
“People are saying that the governor has not shared a position. Is it not when there is a peace that you can share positions?” he asked.
He noted that the governor had proposed measures to harmonise but some people were in opposition to the move, adding that Obaseki should not be blamed for the delay in forming his cabinet and making other appointments.
“I want to assure you all that the governor remains in PDP and he is not going anywhere,” he said.
Earlier in his remarks, Coordinator of Obaseki Solidarity Movement, Mr Okpamen Edosa, said the peace meeting became necessary to reaffirm their support for the governor and build bridges across troubled waters.
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