We’ll remove the punishment called APC —PDP strategist

Dr. Sam Segun Progress, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) strategist in Osun State, speaks with OLUWOLE IGE about the preparedness of the party ahead the 2018 governorship election and how the party is repositioning to ensure electoral victory. Excerpts:

THE 2018 governorship election is about 25 months away, what is the preparedness of the PDP in Osun?

The PDP is doing a lot of re-engineering and repositioning in Osun State. The effort to give a new face and rebrand the party is ongoing. The people are also eager to see the party reorganised and take charge of the state once again. So, preparation is in top gear. As you can see, about six aspirants have made their intentions known and many will join.

But some people are of the view that the polarisation of your party into two factions in Osun may affect its chances during the poll. What’s your take?

Osun PDP is not polarised; it’s just some interests that are responsible for the disagreement. But as a family, this will be resolved in due course. Members are aware of the consequences of prolonged disagreement for the people; so all gray areas will be resolved before June 2017.

What should be the expectation of the people of the state should they vote for the PDP in the forthcoming governorship poll?

The people of Osun know that a PDP government is the people’s government. By the sixth year of the PDP government under Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, local government elections had been conducted twice. The boards had been constituted twice and thousands of politicians and technocrats had been appointed to assist the governor. It was not this sole administratorship and unconstitutional regime we are subjected to. The PDP government will, by the grace of God, take Osun out of these unnecessary and avoidable debts and return the good old days that education, health and human development had priority. Osun will move from 3D and photoshop to reality. Capital flight will cease and Osun State’s money will remain in Osun to build our economy.

Are there efforts to bring back some stalwarts of the party who defected to APC? These people include Oyinlola, Senator Isiaka Adeleke and host of others.

Besides Senator Adeleke, who is also getting wrong treatment, every PDP leader that went to APC has been reduced to zero. Oyinlola can’t be said to be a happier person; Peter was demoted from “Almighty COS” to a board chairman that can’t control the party in his town. I don’t know any PDP member in APCwho has more honour today than they used to have. They had a democratic governor in Oyinlola; they could challenge him and suggest things to him, but who dare advise the incumbent governor? I know party leaders are working hard to bring the aggrieved members back, I am confident they will work with Osun people to remove this punishment called APC.

Do you see any hope of lasting resolution of the crisis rocking the PDP before the conduct of the poll?

As I said, what is happening in PDP is a usual party squabble as a result of diverse interests. Don’t forget that the APC is also fragmented; but you know they are not democratic, hence the fragile stability you observe in their camp. In Osun, the home based APC members are poised for war against the Lagos invaders. Ondo election has introduced another leg, which is the AD bloc, in the APC. The governor and party leadership’s anti-party posture in Ondo has polarised them more than ever. So, while PDP has its problem, the APC has bigger ones. I am, however, confident that the crisis will be over before the middle of next year.