Grappling with leadership crisis in Southwest
THE Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP) is working hard to fix the leadership crisis in its Southwest zone. The National Working Committee ( NWC) had to postpone the regional congress scheduled for March 6 2021 in Ibadan Oyo State. Few days to the postponed congress, the peace committee set up by the Waddata House in Abuja, headed by former Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, held several meetings with the leaders of the camps, the committee also met with former President Olusegun Obasanjo, in Abeokuta to discuss how the issues could be resolved.
But realising that the factions in volved in the crisis were unwilling to shift ground but insisted on holding parallel congresses; the NWC was forced to postpone the zonal congress to allow the Saraki committee look for acceptable solutions.
The dominant area of disagreement is who between Oy o State Governor, Mr. Seyi Makinde and former Governor A yo Fayose, is the leader of the party in the zone.
Although some have argued that Makinde, being the only governor the party produced in the zone should naturally be seen and regarded as the zonal leader, the idea has not gone down well with Fayose, who described Makinde as a “baby governor”. The former governor of Ekiti believed Makinde has not displayed political experience to be entrusted with such regional responsibility.
Fayose did not mince words as he warned Makinde not to dabble into the crisis between him and Senator Abiodun Olujimi on who leads Ekiti PDP. Although Olujimi, who currently represents Ekiti South Senatorial district is regarded as the highest political office holder in the state, but the former governor has refused to reckon with that fact.
But Makinde and his supporters threw tantrums back at Fayose, labeling him ( Fayose) as a political merchant, who is bent on gaining leadership control of Southwest PDP to negotiate himself out of the EFCC’S net. They also accused Fayose of warming up to support the 2023 presidential ambition of the National Leader of APC, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu.
Although Fayose has declared that he will not join APC, he has, severally defended assault against Tinubu, whom he regarded as a Yoruba leader that should not be persecuted like the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, on the altar of national politics.
Fayose admitted that, “there has been a reasonable cold war over who becomes the executive of the zone. Governor Makinde has demanded that the zonal executive be sacked and a caretaker be fostered on the zone, which the party did. “But since the caretaker committee came into being, he has not allowed them to function because he produced the chairman. Beyond that, the fact that there is a sitting governor does not say I should go to another man’s state. I’m not asking that the congress takes place in my state; if you come to my state, I will face you squarely. I will continue to respect him because he is my brother; I love him so much and I was part of his emergence.”
Speaking on the causes of the crises, Makinde said: “They told me that one of our leaders has been the major individual causing trouble in the South- West and we deliberated to ask why that is so; and we said maybe because of the EFCC case or something like that.
“I said that shouldn’t be, because it is better to stay with your own party. Even if you have the EFCC case, like former Governor of Plateau State, Joshua Dariye and Reverend Jolly Nyame and Taraba, who defected to APC with the aim to escape EFCC case, they ended up in jail. Even Governor Orji Uzor Kalu, it was only God that brought him out.
“So, that leader should forget about the EFCC case and do what is right for the party. Because I will just say it, for 2023, even God has rejected APC; the people of Nigeria have rejected them. They can be jumping around saying this one or that one wants to be president in 2023, if we ( PDP) get in, there will be double jeopardy for him because he will ha ve to run back from APC to PDP.”
Some party chieftains told The Guardian that the bone of contention between Fayose and Makinde goes beyond who controls the party at the region. “It is about the impression some members have about Makinde. They alleged the governor is ‘ not known to be honouring political agreement.”
Those peddling this stor y point at how Makinde allegedly frustrated and disappointed politicians that formed the coalition that helped him to win the 2019 governorship election in Oyo State. His critics often make references to how he allegedly dumped Senator Femi Lanlehin and former governor of the state, Senator Rasheed Ladoja and their supporters. They feel they are not well represented in his government, particularly the sharing of jobs and offices.
Indeed, the setting for the current crisis started on the eve of the Ondo State governorship primar y, when the erstwhile National Vice Chairman Southwest, Dr . Eddy Olafeso , resigned to contest in the primar y but lost to Mr . Eyitayo Jegede ( SAN).
It was alleged that before Oyefeso resigned from office, he had an understanding with Makinde and some party leaders to return to his position if he did not clinch the party ticket. The meeting was said to ha ve held in Makinde’s house. But when Olafeso lost the primary and was expected to go back to office, Makinde allegedly worked against the gentleman’s agreement.
Makinde, who is also accused of working in agreement with former Deputy national Chairman of PDP, Chief Bode George, was said to have pushed for the dissolution of the regional executive and replaced them with a caretaker committee headed by his surrogate, Dayo Ogungbenro.
Perhaps, unknown to Makinde, the way he reportedly jettisoned the agreement with Olafeso did not go down well with some party chieftains, who made up their minds not to work with Ogungbenro.
But to convince the aggrieved chieftains of his ability to run the party, Ogungbenro quickly set up a reconciliation committee headed by the former Governor of Osun State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, but the committee had hardly settled down before Fayose’s group set up a parallel peace committee.
But Ogungbenro seems not to be politically smart enough as he helplessly watched a gang up against him by some caretaker committee members to culminate into a meeting of seven out of 12 to pull the rug off his feet.
With the allegation of incompetency against him ( Ogungnenro), the committee suspended him for negligence of duty, alleging that he failed to call any meeting since he was appointed.
The members in the caretaker committee, who suspended Ogungbenro at the meeting, also called on the NWC to appoint another chairman, who will live up to his duties and pilot the affairs of the party pending the conduct of the zonal congress.
Members of the caretaker committee that removed Ogungbenro include the Zonal Secretary, Hon. Daisi Akintan, Mrs. Funmilayo Ogun, Hon. Ayobola Fadeyi- Awolowo, Prince Nekan Olateru- Olagbegi, Hon Wahab Owokoniran, Alhaji Mustapha Sikiru and Hon. Martins Olu- Abiloye.
Others in attendance at the meeting are Engineer Adedeji Doherty, Hon Sikirulai Ogundele, Hon. Sunday Bisi and Chief Bisi Kolawole, representing Lagos, Ogun, Osun and Ekiti States respectively.
They alleged that: “Ogungbenro, had abdicated his responsibilities. He has not called any meeting since the caretaker committee was appointed, thus making the party lack direction.
“Even when we had elections in Ondo and Lagos, the chairman did not call any meeting to plan for the elections, hence the abysmal performance of the party.”
Also, in the bid for the party to have effective media and publicity, the meeting appointed Mr. Lere Olayinka, as spokesperson for the PDP in the Southwest.
Ogungbenro however described his purported suspension as wishful thinking of those who attended the meeting. He said: “They are wishful thinkers. As far as I’m concerned, I, Dayo Ogungbenro, remain the bona- fide acting Chairman of the PDP in Southwest. They don’t have any authority to do that.
“You remember in
Also reacting to the removal of Ogungbenro, Governor Makinde said the dissident zonal executive members have no