Politics
Oyo PDP leaders Lambast Makinde for not supporting Atiku
After declaring his opposition to the party’s presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Governor Seyi Makinde has faced b backlash from some PDP leaders in Oyo State.
On Wednesday, they spoke at the emergency gathering of the party’s leaders from the state’s 33 local government areas in Ibadan.
They publicly endorsed Atiku, who Makinde and four other PDP governors are attempting to defeat. On Saturday, Makinde stated on a live radio program that he and other PDP governors who felt wronged would not support the party’s presidential candidate.
The National Chairman of the PDP, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, resigned from office to allow a southerner to fill the position. The other four governors have not concealed their support for Atiku and have vowed not to work for him.
Makinde wasn’t speaking for the PDP in the state, according to one of the party’s leaders, Dr. Wole Oyelese, a former minister of mines and steel development.
He declared that PDP leaders would labor and win the state for the party’s 2023 presidential nominee, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
Oyelese said, “A good politician will not speak like that. It doesn’t mean anything if Makinde says he will not work for Atiku. He is on his own! It is an empty threat! If he said we should not vote for Atiku, who are we voting for? We are too sophisticated for that in Oyo state. Makinde is a newcomer in Oyo State politics but we shall continue to work for our party.
READ ALSO:
- Seyi Makinde warns PDP Leadership Against Shifting S/West Congress
- Seyi Makinde is a failed governor _ Fayose
- Atiku Can Not Unite His Party, How Can He Unite Nigeria?- Shettima
“However, we are working for Atiku in a special way. My advice for any politician who wants to win in Oyo State is to come to the mainstream. Mainstream is the leadership of the party in the state.
“What is the position of Yoruba on this matter that Makinde is talking about? We don’t have a position. Pa Fasoranti is saying something and Baba Adebanjo is saying another thing. We are not having a position in Yorubaland. Our members remain steadfast and committed. This is our party and we cannot allow it to break down.”
Femi Babalola, a different PDP leader, claimed that the governor is also responsible for the criticisms he leveled at the PDP’s presidential candidate.
“He that comes to equity must come with clean hands. As an Engineer, I analyze issues. The first question I asked myself was is it good for a northerner to take over from a northerner?
“Another question is, is it good for an Ibadan man to take over from an Ibadan man that spent eight years? So, for Makinde that benefited from such, why is he now antagonizing another person? He didn’t see anything that is wrong in that but when it is Atiku, it is wrong,” he added.
Responding to an inquiry by our correspondent, the Chief Press Secretary to Oyo State Governor, Taiwo Adisa, said Makinde and the other aggrieved governors had never said they would campaign for any other presidential candidate.
He said, “Governor Makinde and his colleagues including Governors Nyesom Wike, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Samuel Ortom, and Okezie Ikpeazu have consistently said they will concentrate their campaigns on the PDP candidates in their states if the PDP system will not do the needful on the issue concerning the national Chairman.
Recall that the Oyo State Governor, Mr. Seyi Makinde yesterday noted that he would not support the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar until the party ensured fairness.
Makinde said his administration has been able to deliver accelerated development to the state in the last three and a half years, adding that his performance justifies his re-election bid.
He made the remarks during a live interview session on a radio station in Ibadan, saying with the achievements recorded by the administration across the four service point areas of education, security, health, and economic expansion through agribusiness and infrastructure, he deserved to be re-elected by the people of the state.
Asked about the crisis within the PDP at the national level, Makinde said he would only support Atiku if the party did the needful.
According to him, the party must demonstrate that it can ensure fairness and justice within its system before seeking to implement it in the country.
Makinde maintained that if re-elected in 2023, he would go on to deliver Omituntun 2.0, which he said would center on delivering sustainable development to the people of the state.
He said: “When I was campaigning for election in 2018, I brought out a roadmap and promised the people that it was meant for accelerated development of Oyo State. Now, based on what we have experienced, we have brought another roadmap, but this time round, it is for sustainable development 2023-2027.”