‘Founding Fathers are Responsible for PDP Crisis’
A former Commissioner for Agriculture in Ogun State, Mr. Tunji Akinosi told Femi Ogbonnikan that the founding fathers of the Peoples Democratic Party are responsible for the crisis in the party. He also spoke about the governorship bid of the Yewa/Awori p
As a former South-west zonal youth leader of the PDP, is there any hope in sight at resolving the current intracrisis rocking your party? I am sure the leaders of the party are trying their best in resolving the problems that we have in the party. I must say, personally, I am disappointed with the so-called leaders of the party. I watched with dismay, the so-called interview Prof Jerry Gana granted. And it was adisappointment on his part as a leader, and the so-called elders of the party, who are supposed to hide themselves or put themselves in a corner and lock themselves up for the disappointment of the 2015.
They were the players that failed us, severally, and they are still the ones that are shamelessly putting this party in disrepute. It is shameful, but I hope, that they have the last ditch of chance to bring this party back. And if they don’t, it would be unfortunate, that the so-called founding fathers that have held various offices and taken so much out of this party to put it back after 16 years.
Isn’t what is happening now an ominous sign of the death of the PDP? Well, like I said earlier, the people that pride themselves as founding fathers and I dare say, the founding fathers have been over-blown and over-rated. If you sit down in Abuja, and say, you are a founding father, I am also a founding member of this party, in my own ward. So, if they had got into the party, like I said, and they want to kill it, there is no problem. Once this party dies, the likes of those leaders, politically are also dead. So, they are digging their graves.
Like I said, there is a tiny light at the end of the tunnel that is still giving us hope, but some of us will not be the ones to lose out if this party dies. If it dies for the purpose of us bringing back a new political party that will be devoid of these traders – those that call themselves leaders –definitely we will take from the Holy Bible, which says, “the dry bone shall rise again”.
Aren’t you considering defecting to the oppositionAPC to remain relevant politically? I have always been telling so many people that relevance is relative. I have never changed party from 1999 till date. I am a founding member of the PDP in my ward and I have been in the PDP ever since. The APCthe people are running to has not got any dime while serving in the current government. And so, I do not need to run into any party. The APC is not a better party in comparison to the PDP, as it were today in Abuja. My senatorial district (Ogun West) has not got anything in terms of development from the APC-led government.
My ward is worse. So, if as it is today, you are asking me, if I am not contemplating join APC, definitely there is nothing I am going to do there. Is it the economy that as today a dollar is N370 from N160 or N180 about a year ago? Is that what would make one happy, that I am moving into another party? No! I have not considered orseen anything that would make one say you are jumping ship even when the PDP, like I said, is in the way it is.
Do you foresee Ogun West producing governor in 2019? Well, I am from Ogun West Senatorial District as you said, and I have often been telling my people that something good does not come easy.