Obasanjo, Lar, others protest at PDP headquarters

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo and some notable leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party were at the party’s headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday over the crises trailing the ongoing primaries of the party.

The other PDP leaders that were at the party’s headquarters in Abuja included governors Sullivan Chime (Enugu) and Adebayo Alao-Akala (Oyo) as well as the Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Chief Taofeek Arapaja.

Also at the party’s headquarters were the former National Chairman of the party, Chief Solomon Lar; the Deputy President of the Senate, Chief Ike Ekweremadu; ex-President of the Senate , Chief Ken Nnamani; a former Governor of old Anambra State, Chief Jim Nwobodo; ex-Minister of Justice, Chief Richard Akinjide (SAN) and a former Governor of Oyo State, Chief Kolapo Ishola.

Obasanjo, who is the Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees, was the first to meet with the leadership of the party.

At the end of the meeting that lasted for about three hours, Obasanjo was accompanied out of the building by Nwodo and other members of PDP National Working Committee.

When accosted by journalists, Obasanjo, laughing, declined to state the reason(s) for his visit . But after much prompting, he continued with his laughter and prayed for the journalists that God would not take away laughter from their mouths.

“May God not take laughter out of my mouth and may He (God) also not take laughter out of your (journalists) own mouths,” the former President, who was visiting the party’s headquarters for the first time in a long time, said.

However, our correspondent gathered from a member of the NWC, who refused to be named, that Obasanjo was at the PDP headquarters to complain about irregularities in the conduct of the primaries in his home state, Ogun.

According to the NWC member, the former Head of State, openly protested alleged moves by the PDP leadership in the state to deny his daughter, Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, a ticket to return to the Senate.

He was also said to have warned that the controversies trailing the conduct of the primaries across the country, was capable of weakening the party and thereby strengthening the opposition.

The NWC member said, “The BOT chairman came to complain about the conduct of primaries across the country, especially the one in his home state. He warned that if care was not taken, the party could lose in some states.”

Nwodo was said to have explained that he foresaw the crises and that was why he tried to introduce reforms that would have minimised governors hold on the party.

Our source added that Nwodo assured Obasanjo that the PDP would not hesitate to cancel primaries in states where there were irregularities.

Lar was said to have complained about the situation in his home state, Plateau where almost all those contesting against Governor Jonah Jang have left the PDP.

As at the time of filling this report at 8pm, Alao-Akala and Chime were still meeting with Nwodo and the other officers of the party.

It was gathered that the others were to meet with the NWC after Alao-Akala and Chime.

In Oyo and Enugu states, the conduct of the primaries had resulted in violence. In Oyo, a factional leader of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, Alhaji Lateef Salako, was shot to death during the primaries in one of the council areas in Ibadan.

The Senate Leader, Mr. Teslim Folarin, whose supporters were said to have had a disagreement with Salako, before he was killed, was taken to an Ibadan Magistrates’ court on Tuesday. He was remanded at the Agodi Prisons by the court till January 14.

Meanwhile, a faction of the PDP in Kwara State , on Wednesday evening threatened to conduct parallel governorship primaries on January 9.

The leader of the faction, Chief Samuel Adedayo, told journalists in Ilorin that the outcome of the primaries would be sent to the national secretariat of the party in Abuja for ratification.

Adedayo, who added that the members of the faction were on the ground in the state, said they would work for the success of the party in the state

But the state chapter of the party recognised by the national headquarters said the group lacked “electoral value.”

“The faceless group, that is disguising as PDP founding members should tell Nigerians where they were in the last eight years of the ruling party in the state. We know that their sponsors are based in Lagos and Abuja and their effort is to destabilise the state in order to score cheap political point,” it said in a statement by Alhaji Suleiman Yusuf.

-Punchwp_posts