Stakeholders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the South-West, on Monday, held a meeting at the Oyo State Government House, Ibadan, with the November 16 Ondo governorship election top on the agenda. WALE AKINSELURE had an interaction with the South-West zonal chairman of the PDP, Mr Kamorudeen Ajisafe, on the import of the meeting.
Stakeholders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the South-West met on Monday at the Oyo Government House, Ibadan, with the forthcoming Ondo governorship as a key issue. What message is the PDP South-West trying to pass across with the meeting?
The meeting is to show to the whole world that the PDP is ready to take its rightful place in the political arena. You would recall that before this time, we have been losing Ondo and Ekiti states as a result of disunity among the critical stakeholders. But, this time, we want to get it right and that was why we called ourselves together in the ancient city of Ibadan to talk to ourselves the reason why we have to come together so that we have a purposeful campaign and be able to win the next election.
One of the resolves of the meeting was the need to reconcile members of the Ondo PDP. Who are those leading the reconciliation and how do you intend to go about it?
We have the two governors and members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party, which includes myself, in the reconciliation. But, the critical, major stakeholders are, among others, Governor Olusegun Mimiko and Barrister Eyitayo Jegede, SAN, and others like Chief Dairo, Chief Adegoke. We thank God that they saw reason why we should come together. It was a very successful deliberation; people apologized, people asked for forgiveness across board. So, we started on a clean note and we are happy. We will have our running mate in place, very soon, so that we can hit the ground running.
You talked about people apologizing at the meeting. What was the apology about?
It was a global apology coming from critical stakeholders, without any specific reason. It was a global declaration. For example, people at the meeting said, In order for us to win this election, if there is anybody I have offended by my utterances, my association, my actions, inactions, whether by representations or personally, I hereby give an unreserved apology. It was people trying to humble themselves saying if there is any way they have offended the other person, either known or unknown, I hereby tender my unreserved apology. I can take that one to the bank. You will feel good when you hear someone say, Mr Ajisafe, if I have offended you in any way, I seek for forgiveness, it shows statesmanship.
Some of the issues of reconciliation may stem from the governorship primary of your party. Do you consider the primary fair enough to all aspirants?
Why we will find it easy to reconcile everybody has to do with the process of the primary. The primary was transparently done. The three adhoc delegates emerged in a transparent manner. That is why we are not having problem per se.
Are you aware of any of the governorship aspirants filing a petition or appeal over the primary?
There is no petition from them and we are on the same page. We have realized that we need to win the election. The reaction has been so positive in the sense that, they are all happy with the conduct of the primary because, at every step taken, we secured their concurrence. We got their approval at every state leading to the primary. Interestingly, all the seven aspirants were optimistic about winning the primary, that was why we had rancor-free primaries. And after the primaries, the aspirants will work for the success of our governorship candidate, Mr Agboola Ajayi.
From which zone of the state will the deputy governorship candidate be picked from?
Since we have our governorship candidate from the South Senatorial district, the deputy will come from either Central or North Senatorial districts.
Have you narrowed it down to one senatorial district?
No. But, we will be influenced by where we normally have our traditional bloc votes.
Who picks? The governorship candidate or the party?
It is going to be a joint decision by the critical stakeholders but the governorship candidate has a major influence. At times, the party might pick three people and give the governorship candidate the power to choose. The power to nominate might go to the party. The party might say it will nominate three, out which the governorship candidate can pick one, which is very healthy.
How does your candidate and party intend to defeat the incumbent, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, who has both the power of incumbency and federal might?
That is true; the governor is relying on the power of incumbency and federal might but other parties, not only the PDP, will resist any rigging or any form of coercion from any quarters. We have to protect this democracy and I know that the president, being a democrat, will not want to toy with the democratic processes and nobody wants to truncate the nascent democracy. I am of the opinion that there will be as much as possible transparent conduct of the election and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) must be able to conduct the election impartially. I am expecting a very good show from INEC; they can’t afford to do otherwise.
Some had thought that having Barrister Eyitayo Jegede, having contested the governorship before, as your candidate for the November election would boost the chances of the PDP. Did you consider this in choosing Agboola Ajayi as your candidate, this time?
Ordinarily, Eyitayo Jegede could have been the best, but, it was zoned out of his senatorial district. Eyitayo Jegede is formidable, well-known across the nooks and crannies of Ondo State, but he is from the central senatorial district; that limited him getting into the race. But he joyfully embraced the zoning of the ticket to the South.
Your candidate, Agboola Ajayi fell out with his late principal, the late Governor Rotimi Akeredolu. Don’t you consider that that may be used against him during campaigns?
There is bound to be agreement, disagreement among ourselves but at the end of the day, it is incumbent that you need to resolve issues. He was at one time or the other, late governor Rotimi Akeredolu. They disagreed and they parted ways. Let us see the interplay of interests, other forces. We are hopeful that the campaign will be interesting.
Where does your strength lie to win the election? Is it the candidate, your party or some other factors?
We rely mostly on the cohesiveness, cooperation of the critical stakeholders, most especially Governor Olusegun Mimiko and Barrister Eyitayo Jegede. If they can come together, then we don’t have problem. The biggest strength has to do with Eyitayo Jegede and Mimiko coming together to drive the campaign. If they can do that, then we don’t have problem. Before we can be sure of victory, the two of them must be on the same page.
You know that our politics requires a lot of money. You face an incumbent governor whose party is the ruling party in the country and can galvanise vital resources, how does your party intend to beat that?
The issue of funds is fundamental in Nigeria politics. In terms of funds, I can say that we cannot match the APC candidate who, in the name of social services, can roll out billions. But we are relying heavily on the goodwill of the people and the security, economic and social situation in the country, at the moment, which will propel us into mobilizing the common people on the street to vote for the PDP.
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