Oyo PDP Crisis Deepens As Members Protest Alleged Imposition
.We’ve Not Endorse Any Candidate-Pub Secretary
The crisis rocking the Oyo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) took a turn for the worse as several of its members, on Saturday, protested alleged imposition of candidates, ahead the forthcoming local government election in the state.
The members of the party, in their hundreds, from Ibadan South East Local Government Area (IBSE LG), stormed the state party secretariat at Molete, in peaceful protest against the alleged imposition of the caretaker of the local council, Emmanuel Alawode, as the candidate for the election.
Four aspirants were said to have been cleared by the state party leadership, including Alawode, Teslim Ogundeji, Ademola Olaifa and Mrs Olaide Adedeji, with the last three insisting on a primary election for the candidate of the local council area to emerge for the election.
The protesters carried placards with various inscriptions, including “Respect the voice of the people in IBSE LG”; “Let the will of the people prevail”; and “We don’t want imposition in IBSE LG”, among others.
The protesters alleged that some leaders of the party cajoled the state governor, Engineer ‘Seyi Makinde, into endorsing Alawode as the candidate for IBSE LG for the local government election.
They said, rather than accepting imposition, the governor and the state leadership should organised a free and fair primary, adding that they would accept the outcome of such an exercise.
They subtly threatened that, while they would not leave the party, they would work against the PDP in the election, should its leadership go ahead and imposed a candidate on them.
Speaking with Newscoven.ng on behalf of the protesters, Chief Bigger Olayinka Bigger (aka Chairman of Chairmen, IBSE LG), described Governor Makinde as a man of the people, but he should not allow his name to be spoilt.
“We, the members and exco of the PDP in IBSE LG thank Governor Seyi Makinde for all that he has been doing in the state. He has been doing well since he came into office in May, 2019.
“But for the local government election, some leaders in the party told us that they already have a candidate for the election in IBSE LG.
“But we don’t want position. We want a primary to pick the candidate. They want to impose a candidate on us as a way to syphon our money. We will resist this with all our strength,” he said.
Also speaking, the financial secretary of the party in the local government area, Sulaimon Kobiowu, said: “Some of our so-called leaders are trying to impose one unpopular candidate to be the chairman in our local council.
“They want to do this because of their own personal and selfish interest. This made them to reach an agreement with the man in question.
“However, majority of the party members in the local council want a primary to choose their candidate for the election. That is the only credible and democratic means to have a candidate that would be acceptable to all.
“We don’t want imposition. We are appealing to Governor Makinde to please let the voice of the people prevail by allowing us to go through primary to pick our candidate for the election.
“Imposition kills a political party faster than the opposition party. We know they are using the name of the governor to impose an unpopular candidate.
“We know that Governor Makinde is a good person and he believes in primary elections. He became the governor through primary. We too want the same system to pick our candidate for the local government election,” he said.
Another leader of the party in the local government, Chief Dosu Adegoke, also corroborated the claims of the protesters as he accused some PDP leaders of running the party as their personal enterprise.
“We have been calling and holding leaders’ meeting without a hitch. But when they wanted to do a kangaroo, we were at a meeting at the TCTC Office at Eleyele. There, they said we were not invited.
“I am 80-year-old and they said I am not a leader of the party. They wanted the three of us out of the meeting, including me, Alhaji Bashorun Olasupo and Ahmed Arapaja, and which was uncalled for.
“I asked them if it was a meeting of the PDP leaders. I was told that it is a cult meeting of which I cannot be a member. They told me and the other two out of what they wanted to do.
“What they wanted to do is the imposition of Emmanuel Alawode as the IBSE LG candidate for the election. Here is a man who has been a caretaker chairman for 14 months without doing anything for the party of the local council.
“We are here to protest against the imposition. We want a primary election. If they go ahead, PDP will lose, not only in IBSE LG, but in the entire state.
“I have high regards for Governor Makinde and that is why we worked relentlessly for his election. But what are we getting now? Nothing. The nearest government to the people is the local government. They should let the people feel their impact,” he said.
Speaking, PDP Women Leader in the local government area, Mrs Olufunmilayo Kobomoje, said: “The love we have for the governor is the reason we allowed Alawode as the caretaker chairman in the first instance.
“But now, we want primary to choose our candidate for the local council election. We elected Governor Makinde through primary. He should please allow same process for us to elect our chairman in IBSE LG.
“Women and the people of the local council have not benefitted since Alawode became the caretaker chairman of the local government. They are treating us as if we are still in the opposition.
“Alawode said money has not been coming to the council and that is why they have not been working. Now we want an election, through primary, so that we can have good governance in our local government area.”
Another PDP leader in the local council, Mrs Oluwatoyin Umoru, also insisted on primary, saying members of the party would accept and support whoever that emerged from a free and fair exercise.
“Governor Makinde is doing well, but he should please allow for primary so that the good work he is doing can continue. We don’t want to be in the opposition because we like our governor. He is masses-friendly and he listens to the people.
“Governor Makinde should consider politicians and not allow us to suffer. We don’t want to work against the PDP. That is why we don’t want imposition. We want to choose our local government chairman through primary,” she said.
Also speaking, a former secretary in the old IBSE LG, Tope Yusuf (Supreme), described the local government as the most indigenous with a tradition, declaring that any imposition would be resisted.
“We resisted an attempt by former Governor Rashidi Ladoja to impose a sole administrator on this local government area. In another instance, an attempt by the late Chief Lamidi Adedibu to impose a council chairman was resisted. The issue was only resolved by former President Olusegun Obasanjo who told Baba Adedibu to let us have our way.
“Governor Seyi Makinde should learn that IBSE is the most indigenous local council with a rich history of resistition of imposition. We would resist any form of imposition here.
“Only a week person will want to be imposed and a feeble one for that matter. But even at that,you can only have a consensus candidate if he is popular.
“Alawode approached the governor and begged him to accede to his request to be adopted as a consensus candidate. But the governor said he should go for a primary, in line with the wish of the people.Governor Makinde is a man of his word. He said every aspirant should face primary.
“We know what it takes to win a party primary. We are going to dare anybody who tries to impose any candidate. But we will accept the outcome of a free and fair primary,” he said.
Damola Olayiwola, a two-term councillor in the local council, was not left out in the clamour for a primary to pick a candidate for the local government election.
He claimed that some politicians from the local government area held a meeting with Governor Makinde where they impressed it on him that the prevailing security situation would not allow for a primary election, hence a consensus candidate should be adopted.
He said: “However, the governor told them to go to their local government area and reach an agreement with their people, party leaders and members.
“A five-man committee was appointed to look into the possibility of some of the aspirants stepping down and adopt a consensus candidate. However, the other three aspirants from IBSE LG are insisting on primary.
“This protest is as a result of a rumour that the governor has agreed on imposing Alawode. We are resisting this as his imposition will be a bad dent on the governor and the party. If Alawode believes that he has done well in the last 14 months, he should allow primary.
“We are appealing to Governor Makinde, as a peace-loving governor, to create a level-playing ground for a primary. We want primary and not imposition. Whoever that emerged through the exercise would be supported,” he said.
Reacting to the allegation by the protesters that Governor Makinde has endorsed a particular candidate among the aspirants, the state Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Engineer Akeem Olatunji, said there was nothing of such and described it as mere rumour that he would not like to react to.
He said the PDP leadership in the state has not endorsed any particular candidate, adding: “I don’t react to rumour. Anybody can fabricate rumour and throw it to the public domain. We react to reality and the reality is what we hear from the aspirants.
“The second thing is that in any democratic settings there is bound to be differences and that is what we call individual differences. No matter what, everybody will have their supporters but at the end of the day, majority will have their way.
“When it comes to endorsement, even those that are protesting are doing so because they endorsed somebody. You can have 100 endorsements from every individual. But, as far as our party is concerned, we have not endorsed any candidate as being insinuated by the protesters.
“In the last dispensation, there is no room for protest because people were not even given chance to express who they want. But this time around, we allowed people to express themselves and we are listening to them.
“We allow the aspirants to tell us what they want and we jot all those things down and our governor, who happened to be a democratic person, is a good listener and as a leader, he knows what to do to make everybody happy.
“As far as we are concerned, we are building this party, not only for 2023 but we are also building it for future so that the PDP will continue to be winning in Oyo State.”
