The former deputy governorship candidate of the party, Adekunle Akinlade, and others have accused the leadership of the party of preventing them from participating in the ongoing membership registration and revalidation. What is your response to this allegation?
They felt aggrieved and they raised the alarm, and promptly, the party structure in Ogun State responded, and took their complaints to the appropriate quarters which is the national, and the national headquarters responded to their plight. Based on these agitations and complaints, other national bodies of the party extended the closing date of the registration and revalidation exercise by one month, giving room for those who were being disenfranchised to be part of the exercise.
How on earth can you say Jimi Lawal, who bought form from Abuja, and registered as a member of the PDP in Ijebu, is not a member of the political party? Some of all these shenanigans have got to stop. We have been invited to Abuja and the National Working Committee of the party has warned those that are being found guilty of the complaints. So, an extension was approved, and this led to a change in all the dates of the congresses. That is to tell you that the PDP has got a listening ear.
Some people think that the power tussle among blocs to claim structure and control of the party may lead to the breakup of the party. What is your view about this?
Some people think that the power tussle among blocs to claim structure and control of the party may lead to the breakup of the party. What is your view about this?
Politically, grouping or faction as you layman put it is allowed. There is freedom to associate; you have the right to associate with your like minds, and you also have the right not to. That is the beauty of democracy, but the party, as I’m speaking to you now is under my leadership as the chairman. Ladi Adebutu was a governorship candidate, and he lost that election, and the party must get back to the hand of the chairman. Whoever is brewing trouble over sole leadership of the party, the time has come for such a person to rethink. This has been one of the reasons we have a record of losses at the polls.
We have gone back to the drawing board, and we have identified that when the party is being seen or perceived as being in the pocket of one person, people will not come and join it. As I said a few months ago, the party that I want to run now must be an independent PDP. There won’t be any attachment of any personality to the party. That is only when people will freely come and join the party and exercise their franchise. That is when they can run for internal party positions and general elections. So, when you give the impression of independence of a political party as it’s supposed to be when people are convinced that this party is independent of its activities, they will come and join; they will come and invest in the development of the party, but when the party is being perceived or being seen to be in the pocket of one Mr A or Mr B, the party will not grow.