South West congress: Stand firm against impostors, Lagos PDP tells party national headquarters

Lagos State chapter of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called on the party’s headquarters to stand firm against those it described as impostors and had decided to use the Judiciary to the platform backwards, even as it restated its readiness for the coming South-West Congress that would produce zonal executive that would be acceptable to the majority of people of the zone.

The zonal congress of the main opposition party has been scheduled to hold, on March 6, 2021, in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

This was just as the party chapter affirmed the Oyo State governor, Engnr Seyi Makinde as PDP leader in the zone, saying it also stood by the decision of the National Working Committee (NWC) that had the conditional right to fix the date and venue of the exercise.

The State Legal Adviser of PDP, Muyideen Tejumade, made this call, on Friday, at a press conference which took place at the party secretariat, and attended by state officers and local government chairmen, including the national ex-officio member, David Kolawole; Alhaji Segun Sowole, among others.

“We are calling on the National Committee of our great party stand firm against the few impostors, who have decided to use the Judiciary to draw the party backwards; while we restate our readiness in the South-West PDP to have a congress that will produce the zonal executives that are acceptable to the majority of the people of the South-West,” Tejumade said.

The party chieftain, while giving the charge, said it was not unaware of some sinister motives of some members of the National Working Committee (NWC) “who through some unscrupulous elements and political scavengers are bent in destabilizing the party in our region.”

Tejumade described as saddening, frightening and shocking that some NWC members would even consider hobnobbing with one who he described as political hyena, warning that the party headquarters must not be quickened to forget the “grave consequences of Sen Ali Modu Sheriff and Sen Makarfi brouhaha that almost consumed our party.”

The party chieftain, while condemning former Ekiti State governor, Mr Ayo Fayose’s role ahead of the zonal congress, disclosed that it was open that Fayose made bold to say that he worked against the party’s governorship candidate, Engnr Segun Oni who was fielded in Ekiti State in the last election, saying that the same person had been threatening to work against Governor Makinde, ahead of 2023 General Elections.

“We make bold to say that His Excellency, Engnr Seyi Makinde is a symbol of an ambassador of our great party, His Excellency, Engnr Segun Oni was a symbol of the party while flagging our party ticket and any other person flying our party ticket is an ambassador of our party. Hence anyone suspected or found wanting to have worked against the party, he must, therefore, be considered inconsequential in all ramifications,” he said.

Also speaking, national ex-officio member of PDP, Kolawole, while also condemning the attempt to scuttle the coming zonal congress of the party through the judicial and political process, said leaders and members of Lagos chapter were resolved to rebuild PDP and, would storm Ibadan to hold peaceful and orderly exercise that would produce authentic leadership for the party in the zone.

He appealed to members to remain united to enable the exercise hold, saying Nigerians were going through pains currently and waiting for PDP to take over the mantle of leadership at the centre, come 2023.

Meanwhile, a group within the Lagos chapter of Peoples Democratic Party, The PDP Collectives, has called on the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party to call the National Legal Adviser to order over its tactical support to a lawsuit that seeks to postpone the South-West Zonal Congress of the party.

The group made the call, on Friday, in a release titled: “PDP is on the path of self-destruction,” and signed by its Chairman, Professor Tejumade Akitoye-Rhodes, describing the role of the National Legal Adviser in a purported lawsuit that seeks to derail the Congress as rather disingenuous, suspicious, offensive and in bad taste.

The group said were the suit allowed to subsist, it would lay a very dangerous precedent that may eventually set the party itself on the path of implosion.

PDP Collectives, while noting that Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State brought to the public forum, on Thursday, an ambiguous attempt by the PDP National Legal Adviser to halt and postpone the zonal congress already scheduled for March 6, 2021, wandered why single out the South-West alone should be singled out for such move, adding: “There is apparently no smoke without fire.”

“Why single out South-West alone?

“This is totally unacceptable. It is an insult to the Yoruba people. It is an insult to Governor Makinde himself who is the leader of the party in the South-West. If this charade is another way of telling the Yoruba people that they are not wanted in the PDP, they should note that no party can win the presidential election without significant electoral input from the South-West,” the group said.

The group strongly advised the NWC to warn the legal adviser, who it noted was obviously playing an unveiled destabilizing role to desist forthwith.

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