Clement Adeyi, Osogbo
The Osun State chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), on Sunday, elected Olasoji Adagunodo as the chairman during the party’s congress held at the Osogbo City Stadium.
Adagunodo, who expressed delight at his appointment, promised to go the extra mile in ensuring unity in the party and reposition it for victory in the forthcoming governorship election in the state in September as well as the general elections in 2019.
He assured that the party would bring about improved governance for the people of the state in a way that would surpass previous records by Governor Aregbesola’s administration.
“The PDP will, by the grace of God, provide the much-needed rallying point for teachers, civil servants, doctors, farmers, students, pensioners and all the great people of Osun State who have been impoverished by the Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola administration in the last seven and a half years,” he said.
“It is highly unimaginable that a governor who inherited an economically viable and socially stable state from the PDP in November 2010 has turned the state into the most heavily indebted state in Nigeria and one with the lowest sustainability index by 2018,” he added.
The chairman said the lingering crisis in the party was over and called on those interested in joining it to come in for it to win victory together in the forthcoming elections.
“For members of other political parties who have been indicating interest in joining the PDP but were constrained by the crisis of the last two years, I want to tell you that the siege is now over and our doors are wide open for you to come and join us,” he stated.
Scores of national and state leaders and chieftains of the party participated in the congress.
The national delegates were led by the Chairman of the Electoral Committee Emmanuel Agbor.
Among the party leaders were former national Secretary, Professor Wale Ladipo, former deputy governor in the state and former minister of state for defence, Erelu Obada, former minister for youth and Sports, Senator Akinlabi Olasunkanmi, former national deputy chairman, Shuaib Oyedokun, and a member of the House of Representatives, Oluwole Oke.
Others are former Secretary to the Osun State Government, Fatai Akinbade, Prince Ade Fadahunsi, former Chairman of the party in the state, Gani Ola-Oluwa, former speaker of the state House of Assembly, Adejare Bello, Senator Felix Ogunwale, House of Assembly members, Dipo Eluwole and Albert Adeogun, Senator Olu Alabi, Nathaniel Oke among others.
While delivering his speech, Adagunodo called on aggrieved members of the party to support him in rescuing the state from the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.
“Let me therefore use this opportunity to extend a hand of friendship to our fellow contestants who also offered themselves for the service of our party in various positions,” he said.
“I want to assure you all that the fact that you lost in this election does not in anyway mean that you are less competent to run the affairs of the party.
“We shall ensure that no member of the party suffers any form of discrimination on the basis of his or her previous affiliation during our crisis period. We shall, in word and in deed, show that truly, there are no victors and there are no vanquished.
Meanwhile, the ruling party, (APC) has said that the PDP is crisis-ridden and lacks the pedigree to rule the state. It insisted that it should continue to battle with its crisis and stop laying claim to ability to win any election.
This was contained in a statement yesterday by its Director of Publicity, Research and Strategy, Mr Kunle Oyatomi.
The party charged PDP to face its crisis and sort out themselves and stop hallucinating on how to ‘wrestle’ power from the ruling party.
“A party that cannot conduct ordinary ward congresses in unity cannot stand in the way of the progressive APC’,” the APC said.
“In the last three years or so, the PDP has been embroiled in fractional leadership crisis, fighting over who should control the party, which has generated into having two secretariats up until now.
“They are unserious and can’t rule over good people of Osun who have been enjoying dividends of democracy over seven years now’, the APC said.
“Osun cannot afford to make a wrong decision because that will be inviting the evil that is waiting in the wings to destroy the glorious achievements that Osun has seen since 2010. The state has changed for the better.
“Every citizen of the state should look around himself or herself and ask this vital question: is this Osun I used to know when the PDP was in power?
“You should not forget that for the seven and half years that the PDP was in power in the state, it abandoned ‘Gbonmi’ and became complicit in the disasters that regularly happened there.
“The PDP says it wants to come back to power. Does your conscience tell you that that party is an alternative to APC?’ the party asked.
“Can you in good conscience prefer a party that left the state to rut; that allowed flood to claim lives and properties and that practically squandered the resources of the state to return to power and do worst things? God forbid.
“Those who are clamouring for a reversal of the success and progress that Osun has made under the APC government led by inimitable Rauf Aregbesola are worse than the evil itself.
“The story of progress in Osun has not ended. We have more on infrastructural and educational transformation that the state has seen in the last seven and half years.”