By Ndubuisi Orji
In recent times, the leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in the South West have not hidden their desire to produce the next national chairman of the party. But that desire may just remain a dream as the leaders of the party are no longer in one accord on the project.
Indications that there is a crack within the South West PDP on its quest to produce the next national chairman of the party, emerged recently when the senator representing Ogun East senatorial district led some leaders of the party on a solidarity visit to the national chairman of the party, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff.
The delegation which consisted of the party’s zonal chairman, Makanjuola Ogundipe told the National Chairman that the North should retain the chairmanship of the party.
The party’s convention where a new National Working Committee(NWC) would be elected is scheduled for May 21. Already, a committee has been put in place to come up with a zoning formular for the offices in the NWC.
Prior to the visit of the Kashamu delegation, the South West was the only zone that openly declared interest in the national chairmanship. Former Deputy National Chairman (South) Olabode George is tipped to contest for the plum office. Already, the party had said it would cede its presidential ticket to the North in the 2019 general election.
Based on the party’s decision that its presidential candidate in 2019 would be a northerner, the Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose kick-started the campaign for the South West to produce the next national chairman of the PDP.
In a statement issued late last year by his Special Assistant on Public Communication, Lere Olayinka, the Ekiti governor had declared that producing a national chairman from the zone was not negotiable, as anything to the contrary would be unacceptable.
Consequently, he urged leaders of the South West geo-political zone to brace up to contest the position.
“Since the PDP will pick its presidential candidate from the North in 2019, the Southwest that has not produced the party’s National Chairman should take the position,” he said.
Expectedly, party chieftains in the South West started lobbying for the plum seat to be ceded to the zone in the zoning formula that is expected to be unveiled soon.
But the arrangement crumbled soon after it was mooted , no thanks to some PDP leaders from the zone who declared loudly that the zone was not interested in the position . Expectedly, the declaration has thrown spanner into the works of George and others interested in the seat from the zone.
A document that was reportedly signed by Kashamu, former Senate Leader, Teslim Folarin, state chairmen of the party in the zone and 30 others, which was presented to Sheriff, had argued that since the PDP has 10 governors in the South and only two in the North, allowing the South to produce the national chairman would make the party assume the toga of a regional party.
However, that position has been trailed by controversy across the zone as many party top shots have condemned and disowned the proposal.
Former Acting National Secretary of the PDP, Dr. Remi Akitoye said those who made the proposition were doing a disservice to the South-West, as the zone has earnestly craved for the position.
He said although those who made the pronouncement were party leaders in their own rights, but they cannot be said to have spoken for the party in the zone, noting that a decision on a serious issue that affects the zone could not have been taken without the knowledge of the known leaders of the party in the zone.
“If some caucus of the party went to Abuja to go and greet the new chairman, if some people gathered themselves for solidarity visit and start making decisions that affect the whole of South West; if Bode George, if Shaibu Oyedakun, if all other leaders were there, we will say oh, they have met on our behalf. Not just some persons.
“ South-West has not produced the national chairman of the party in the 16 years of PDP, and this is the auspicious time for us to assume the position and some members from the zone would hold a contrary view.
“It is unfortunate that while we are putting our house in order to get the chairmanship position of the party, some people from the zone chose to work against the party interest. Their plans shall not stand as the zone is on ground for the party chair as first step to bring back the glory of the party ,” he said.
Also, former Minister of Transport, Chief Ebenezer Babatope told Daily Sun that those members of the party who said the South West was no longer interested in the PDP national chairmanship spoke for themselves.
The PDP leader said even though the state chairmen from the zone were said to have been part of the Abuja delegation, they didn’t speak for the party in the zone.
Babatope said if any zone in the country deserves to produce the next national chairman of the party, then it is the South West. He noted that the zone has contributed meaningfully to the development of the party. Consequently, it is uncalled for, for any person or group to deny the zone of the position.
Similarly, Chairman, Lagos Collectives, Professor Tejumade Akitoye – Rhodes dismissed the proposition that the South West was not interested in the national chairmanship of the PDP as “illogical and absurd.”
In a statement, Akitoye-Rhodes noted that “it is absolute nonsense and irredeemably outrageous. This does not in any way represent the position or the will of the Yoruba people.
As a matter of fact, the whole blatant spectacle of the subversion of the right of the Yoruba people was financed, promoted, and brazenly organized by Mr Buruji Kashamu.”
Undaunted by the controversy trailing the proposal, Kashamu said it was the opinion of the delegation, and not his personal opinion. In a statement issued last weekend, he said their proposal does not foreclose other opinions from the zone on the issue.
The Ogun senator said any person or group that has a contrary opinion is free to push their own suggestion.
“On our proposal that the National Chairmanship of the party should remain in the North, I wish to state that it was the opinion of the delegation. We were and are still of the view that given the strong presence of the PDP in the South, with 10 governors out of 17 governors in the South and just two governors in the 19 states in the North, it would make more sense to leave the National Chairmanship of the party in the North, so as not to be branded a regional party.
“Our view does not foreclose any other opinion or suggestion. If some other persons have any other idea, they are at liberty to push it. At the end of the day, it is either superior argument wins or we go to the convention. For us, as true party men, whatever is best for our party and majority of the stakeholders is all we want,” Kashamu stated.
However, a source, who was part of the delegation demurs. He told Daily Sun that when the party leaders left for Abuja, their mission was to pay a solidarity visit to Sheriff, but that unfortunately, when they got to the party secretariat, they were shocked by the pronouncement on the national chairmanship seat.
“When we got there, there was already a prepared speech. The next thing they said was that the South West did not want the national chairmanship. That the national chairmanship should remain in the North. Lagos refused to sign. I think Oyo too did not sign. But I am not sure.
“It was too hasty to begin to declare support for the North. It has always been the wish of the South West that the national chairmanship should be ceded to the zone. What they have done is selling our birthright,” the source declared.