Daniel, others vow to remain in PDP

Ogun State Governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, a former member of the House of Representatives, Mrs. Lola Abiola-Edewor, and other members of the faction of the Peoples Democratic Party led by Chief Joju Fadairo on Sunday said they would not quit the party.

The governor, who led members of the faction to a meeting that lasted from 5pm till 8.30pm in Sagamu, resolved to remain in the party. THE PUNCH learnt that the meeting was attended by the 26 local government chairmen and 10 members from each local government area as well as all political leaders of the party and candidates submitted by the faction to the Independent National Electoral Commission.

Our correspondent learnt that the resolutions of the group were reached after assurances from the PDP National Executive Committee through its legal advisers that the crisis over the authentic list of candidates would soon be addressed. It was learnt that at the meeting, Abiola-Edewor urged members of the group not to trade away their mandates by dumping the party,

“We won the primaries and we cannot trade away our mandate. We know we are up in a struggle with private individuals who are used to having their way but God is above them. Running away from the party will amount to trading away our mandate and we are not ready for that,” she was quoted as saying.

Members of the group vowed to pursue their cause with the support of the party’s NEC, adding that they would not disappoint President Goodluck Jonathan by dumping the party.

The Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr. Sina Kawonise, confirmed the meeting and decisions in a telephone interview with our correspondent.

He said, “A meeting of all Joju Fadairo-led Ogun PDP stakeholders held today in Sagamu and resolved that for the sake of Jonathan, all of us will remain in PDP and not move to another party. It is the belief of all that justice will eventually be done in the courts.

“This has finally put to rest the speculation that the governor is set to dump the party for another platform.”

The faction has been embroiled in a power play with the rival group loyal to ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo over the list of candidates.

The Obasanjo faction had at a State High Court in Abeokuta on Thursday filed a motion for a stay of execution of Wednesday’s judgment declaring the Fadairo executive as the authentic leadership of the party. The court had also declared that the harmonised state executive under Chief Dayo Soremi was illegal.

But the harmonised executive committee on Thursday, in a motion filed at the same High Court presided over by Justice Adetokunbo Jibodu, prayed the court to set aside the judgment pending the hearing and determination of the application. The motion also sought an order setting aside and vacating the ruling.

The suit sought an order converting the originating summons to a writ of summons and directing parties to file pleadings in accordance with the rules.

Meanwhile, the INEC-recognised governorship candidate, Chief Adetunji Olurin, has pleaded with Daniel and his loyalists to join hands with him in the interest of the state.

Olurin, who emerged from Obasanjo’s faction, spoke with journalists in Abeokuta on Sunday, shortly after a church service to mark the second year anniversary of the Chapel of Christ The Glorious King, located within the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library complex in Abeokuta.

Olurin said, “We are all citizens of Ogun State; there are no winners or losers in this issue. It is our responsibility to join hands to develop Ogun State.

“Those who are in opposition, I personally call on them to come together with me on board to develop the state.”

Accompanied by his running mate, Mr. Tunde Oladunjoye, the governorship candidate said if elected, he would focus on rural development in order to reduce urban migration.

“By the time we make the rural areas attractive, we will not have rural-urban migration anymore. Most of our children go to the cities to sleep under bridges because they can’t make ends meet in their villages,” he stated.

-Punch

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Posted by admin on Feb 14 2011. Filed under Ogun, Party Politics, Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP), State News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry