We’ll remain in PDP —South-West leaders

Amid speculations about the realignment of forces across the country, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) South-West Forum has expressed the resolution of its leaders and members to remain in the party irrespective of its current challenges.

This is just as it set up harmonisation committee consisting of one member from each of the six states in the zone saddled with negotiation and reconciliation, commending the party’s founding fathers, Board of Trustees members, governors and the National Assembly members for their roles in “bringing about peace” in the party.

The Forum, which according to one of the conveners and a member of the party’s BoT, Chief Shuaibu Oyedokun, was an initiative of BoT members in the zone and a replica of the national effort, aimed at fostering peace and ensuring true reconciliation, made these statements in a communiqué made available to newsmen after its inaugural meeting held in Ibadan, on Monday.

With the theme Working together to regenerate our party in line with the spirit of the founding facilitators, the forum, which had in attendance PDP leaders from the six states, called on the national leadership  to “clearly zone the position of national chairman of the party to the South-West, because it is the only zone that has not held the position before.”

The forum commended PDP leaders and members in Edo State for the “gallant fight in the last governorship election in the state,” noting that it “stands firmly by them in their effort to retrieve the stolen mandate,” while also calling on members of the party in Ondo State to close ranks and “work together as a solid and united team to sustain the control of the state by PDP come next election.”

Speaking earlier, Oyedokun maintained that the forum was not to usurp the functions of the relevant organs of the party, stressing that “PDP is not dead and will not die. Therefore, be wary of poachers, else you are misled. Neither the APC, nor any other emerging party will subdue the PDP any more because when we rise, neither APC nor any new party would have any more lie to tell Nigerians.”

The other party stalwarts at the meeting included former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Honourable Dimeji Bankole; Senator representing Ogun East, Prince Buruji Kashamu; former Minister of Education, Professor Tunde Adeniran; former Senate Leader, Senator Teslim Folarin; Dr Jimoh Ibrahim; national auditor of the PDP, Alhaji Fatai Adeyanju; Dr Ade Dosumu and the South-West zonal executive led by Chief Makanjuola Ogundipe.