THE common adage that says “nothing lasts forever” may be playing out in Oyo State as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chapter in the state embarks on another attempt to resolve the many crises that have bedeviled the former ruling party and rendered it unable to repeat the electoral feats that saw it winning several elections and ruling the state for eight years, between 2003 and 2011.
Not a few observers were impressed by prominent chieftains of the troubled party in the state coming together few days back at a parley in Ibadan, the state capital, to discuss and resolve the many issues that had hitherto divided the former ruling party in the state. And following testimonies of sources at the meeting, not a few analysts are optimistic that the party may once again, be having an opportunity to return to winning ways.
The crises that rocked the PDP in the state were so intense that it became fragmented into several factions and groups ahead of the last general election. Consequently, chieftains of the party deliberately worked against the party in the 2015 elections, resulting in a situation where its candidates across the state were roundly defeated by the now ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Accord Party (AP).
Also, the unending struggle for the control of the party’s machinery led to the exit of leading chieftains like the immediate past governor of the state, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, who lost his re-election bid on the platform of the party in 2011, to similar developments, as well as Oluseyi Makinde, the Ibadan-born businessman and philanthropist.
While Alao-Akala decamped to the Labour Party (LP) on which platform he contested and lost the 2015 governorship election, Makinde moved over to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) to become its gubernatorial candidate for the same election. He, like Alao-Akala, lost to the incumbent, Governor Isiaka Ajimobi of APC.
So bad was the situation with the former biggest party in the state that its candidate, Senator Teslim Folarin, came a distant third at the end of the election, behind Ajimobi and Alao-Akala. Analysts and his supporters alike were to blame his unprecedented poor performance on the massive cases of anti-party activities embarked upon by aggrieved aspirants and other chieftains, before and during the 2015 elections.
“The PDP got to its worst state as a political party in 2015. The party not only broke into factions, the factions all worked against the interest of the party. By the time we went into the election with Folarin as our candidate, it was obvious to all who should know that he was a political orphan, left alone by the chieftains of the party to swim and sink alone in the electoral contest.
“People who were yet to openly declare that they were no longer in the PDP were seen openly campaigning for opposition parties. Many of them directed their supporters to work against the PDP while they stood aloof. We saw situations where known PDP chieftains placed advertorials to disown the party’s candidate and endorse opposition candidates. It was pretty bad,” Wahab Adejumo, a chieftain of the party in Akinyele L.G.A, said.
After the election, the crises within the party, rather than abate, escalated. The loss of the presidency at the federal level added to the problem as the usual patronages and appointments that usually kept chieftains loyal to the party also ceased. While many, like Alao-Akala and Omilabu Ghandi, moved over to the ruling APC, others who stayed back became nonchalant and disinterested in the affairs of the troubled party.
A chance to unite
It was therefore very surprising to see the likes of Senator Ayoade Adeseun, Elder Wole Oyelese, former Minister of Sport, Professor Taoheed Adedoja, Senator Ayoola Agboola, Senator Robert Koleoso and Chief Nureni Akanbi, at the Ibadan parley, which was, according to party sources, called to discuss how to reposition the PDP and prepare it for future electoral challenges.
“Given that several efforts like this have failed to attract the interest of party chieftains, it is a good development that gradually, our leading chieftains are becoming more interested in the fate of our party once again. The attendance of prominent party leaders and other stakeholders at the Ibadan meeting is a pointer that we still have a chance to rally our people together and unite the party.
This, I can tell you, is just the beginning of the final push to save Oyo PDP. We are committed to restoring the lost glory of our party here in Oyo State. Oyo is a PDP state and even the opposition knows that. That is why they’ve been sponsoring division and crises within our ranks. Now, all that can no longer work as we are ready to return to our winning ways,” a Senator, who was at the meeting, told The Nation.
Others at the peace parley in Ibadan include former Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Mulikat Akande-Adeola, the convener of the meeting, former and serving national and zonal party executive committee members, former council bosses, former state assemblymen, serving and former party chairmen across the state.
Speaking to The Nation during the week, several party sources attested to the fact that the meeting, which came out of efforts by Hon. Akande-Adeola to speak to aggrieved party leaders and men, across the state, on the need to reconcile and move forward, could be described as the most successful peace move since the party’s unexpected electoral losses in 2015.
“Following the collapse of the hegemony of the party, like a pack of cards in the state after the 2015 general election, this effort by Hon. Akande Adeola is the most promising attempt to rescue the party. Even the ones earlier organised by the national leadership of the party could not bring people to come, sit down and discuss the way they did. It is a good sign that there is still hope for PDP in Oyo state,” another party chieftain said.
The Nation learnt that participants at the meeting took time to examine the problems holding the party back and attempted to proffer possible solutions. Even some prominent chieftains who were visibly absent had their associates representing their interests and views at the parley. Pundits said if the proposals at the meeting are anything to go by, then the PDP appears ready for true and genuine reconciliation.
Notable associates and aides of party leaders like Oloye Jumoke Akinjide, former Minister of State, Federal Capital Territory, Senator Teslim Folarin, Alhaji Yekeen Adeojo, former Vice National Chairman, South West, Elder Wole Oyelese, former Minister of Power and Steel, Alhaji Taofeek Arapaja, former Deputy Governor of the state and Azeem Gbolarumi, another former Deputy Governor of the state, reportedly attended the parley.
“The issues that have kept the party out of the Agodi Government House were examined. Reasons why the PDP performed poorly across the state in the last election were in focus. Possible solutions were outlined and discussed. All those present were open to the idea of reconciliation and pledged their willingness to work for its success,” a source said.
2017 in focus
One of the things discussed at the meeting, according to sources, was the possibility of the PDP in the state teaming up with Accord Party, Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Labour Party (LP), ahead of next year’s local government elections, in order to defeat the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The move was confirmed by many of those at the PDP meeting, including Hon. Akande-Adeola, the convener herself. According to sources, the planned alliance is part of efforts to reconcile and rebuild the party in the state and position it to win future elections, especially the council polls now fixed for February 11, 2017 by the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC).
“It would be great if the Accord people can merge with the PDP. But, we also need to the cautious. Like I said, it is all about interest. Accord will not come to PDP and say okay we have submitted to you hook, line and sinker. The PDP too will say, oh, we have been there, it is our platform. So, we need to really get it right, so that we don’t have any fallout at the end of the day,” Akande-Adeola hinted.
According to OYSIEC, elections would hold in the 33 local governments and the newly created 57 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs). The PDP, The Nation learnt, is thinking of collaborating with other opposition parties in the state to give the ruling APC a strong challenge during the local government election.
“We are not unaware of the fact that our party has been badly battered by crises and inactivity. This is the reason we are ready to work with other opposition parties in the state ahead of the council election. There is need for a virile opposition to the ruling party in any serious democracy. We need that in Oyo and PDP, as a leading opposition party is willing to help provide that,” a party chieftain said.
Addressing reporters after the meeting, convener of the meeting, Hon. Akande-Adeola, said the PDP in the state was working hard to put its house in order, saying that party leaders across the state were able to frankly address the issues dividing them and came up with the way forward for the entire party in the state.
Akande-Adeola, who expressed optimism that the party will soon shame its detractors by returning to its united past, said: “There are issues troubling the party right now. There is need to thrash those issues before elections start in the state. PDP is still a very strong party in Oyo State and in Nigeria. Once we can get our acts together, nothing can stop us again.”
According to her, the meeting afforded leaders the opportunity to bare their minds in an atmosphere of trust, adding that subsequent meetings will be regular to be able to build on the success of the maiden meeting. She added that seeing the leaders sit down together to discuss alone is a sign that things are getting better for the troubled PDP.
“In the past, some of them cannot even sit with some people. We have made progress and will continue to make progress. A party is big enough for everybody. It is just for people to realise who they are and know their limits. It is not about someone being in the front all the time. That is not party, for me, I can decide I don’t want to contest any position again. I want to continue to build my party and be supporting those candidates who can do the right thing.
“So, people should be able to see themselves as such. It is not about one person all the time. People should be cautious in whatever they do and we should always weigh our words before we talk. We know our onions because once you say something; it is capable of generating reaction. We should realise that a party is a congregation of people; we need people and need to carry people along in whatever we do, right from the ward level to the national level,” she explained.
