FORMER Senate President, Senator Adolphus Wabara, has expressed confidence that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would reclaim Oyo State, which it lost to internal wrangling in 2011, noting that the conduct of party members and leaders in the state during yesterday’s ward congresses across the state indicated the resolve of party members.
Wabara stated this at the Elekuro High School, Ibadan congress venue of Ward 7, Ona-Ara Local Government, where the former Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Jumoke Akinjide, belonged, commending the peaceful and orderly conduct of the congress in the ward.
The former Senate President, who was at the venue in company of the chairman of the Oyo State PDP caretaker committee, Rt. Hon. Tunde Akogun and secretary, Dr. Kola Ademujinmi, said he wanted the people of Oyo State to see the PDP as a reenergised party that is strong enough to win the 2019 governorship election and other elections in the state.
While addressing Wabara’s entourage, former Director of Media of the Labour Party (LP) in Oyo State and member of the PDP caretaker committee in Ona-Ara Local Government, Mr Taiwo Ibrahim, maintained that all the four parties, namely; Accord Party, Social Democratic Party (SDP), Labour Party (LP) and the PDP, had agreed to work together and that they had harmonised their positions ahead of the congress.
He later told newsmen that Akinjide played a great role in the peaceful conduct of congresses in the 11 wards of the local government.
In Ibadan North-East Local Government, where the SDP governorship candidate for the 2015 election, Mr Seyi Makinde, is the coordinator of the caretaker committee, Buliaminu Ogboriefon, Seye Omotayo, Kehinde Ojuolape, Femi Okunola, Dauda Ajani and Dauda Kolawole, among others, emerged ward chairmen.
The ward congresses in the local government were monitored by party chieftains such as Makinde, Mr Micheal Lana, Alhaji Musa Babajide and Mr Taiwo Salawu.
Makinde appreciated party members for coming out in large number, noting that the congresses were peaceful and successful and that those who had predicted that the congresses would be characterised by violence had been shamed.
“The large turnout of members and the peaceful conduct of the ward congresses are signals to the ruling APC that the PDP is back for good and ready to salvage the state from the brink of collapse,” Makinde said.
Muraina, ex-LG chairman trade words over exercise in Ibarapa Central LG
There were, however, reports of disagreement in Ibarapa Central Local Government, where a faction of the party said it held parallel congresses, alleging that a larger group of party members were not carried along by the caretaker committee in the local government.
A former chairman of Ibarapa Local Government and secretary of the Osun State PDP caretaker committee, Mr Ademola Ojo, said a larger group of party members carried out parallel congresses in the 10 wards and that their results were signed by INEC officials and security agents and that they would tender same before the appropriate committee.
He accused the caretaker coordinator of the party in Ibarapa Central, Dr Ajibola Muraina, of sidelining a larger group of party members, noting that they had made official complaints to the state caretaker committee without any resolution.
But Dr Muraina disclaimed the report that there were parallel congresses in his local government and that INEC and security agents signed the results of such congresses, noting that no such parallel congresses were held and that no INEC or security agency would sign results produced at congresses that were never held.
According to him, four parties including PDP, Accord, Labour Party and Alliance for Democracy (AD) reached a consensus to work together and to harmonise their positions at the ward congresses and that only the SDP was instigated to withdraw from the consensus.
He maintained that the four parties had a ‘yes congress,’ which was witnessed by INEC, Department of State Security and other security agencies, noting that the parties resolved that the SDP could not hold the four other parties back from holding the ward congresses since its people pulled out of the consensus.
Consensus in Iseyin, Itesiwaju, Irepo LGs, others
The congresses in the 11 wards of Iseyin Local Government, Sunday Tribune gathered, went peacefully, as the parties fusing into PDP only ratified the executives of the wards through a consensus.
A chieftain of the PDP in Iseyin Local Government, Senator Gbenga Babalola, told Sunday Tribune that all members of the party had resolved to work together to build a stronger party in the local government.
In Itesiwaju Local Government, it was gathered that all the parties agreed to harmonise their positions in nine of the 10 wards in the local government and that it was only in Ward 9, Otu, that there was an election.
The caretaker coordinator of the local government and former Deputy Senate Whip, Senator Hosea Agboola, described the ward congresses as successful, noting that the success was an indication that the PDP was ready to reclaim Oyo State.
Similarly, Sunday Tribune gathered that the parties fusing into PDP reached a consensus in most of the wards in the 10 local government areas of Oke-Ogun area of the state.
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