Oyo State Governor, Mr Seyi Makinde, says chieftains of the All Progressives Congress eyeing the nation’s Presidency on the platform of the ruling party in 2023 should forget such ambitions as God and Nigerians have rejected the party.
Makinde had on Tuesday said the urgent need of Nigerians now was not a Yoruba presidency but adequate security and restructuring of the country, which he said would address some of the problems.
The Oyo governor also said in a statement on Thursday by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Taiwo Adisa, that those going about campaigning to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari on the platform of the APC in 2023 would eventually be disappointed.
He was quoted to have spoken at the end of a meeting of the PDP Zonal Working Committee of at the Government House, Ibadan.
Makinde also accused an unidentified leader of the party in the South-West of being behind the crisis rocking the PDP in the region.
He, however, said the leader masterminding the problem within the PDP had a case with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and advised him to stay with the PDP and do the right thing, warning him not to defect to the ruling APC in order not to end up in jail like former governor Joshua Dariye; former governor Jolly Nyame, and Senator Orji Kalu, who was sent to jail and freed after a while.
Although the governor did not mention Ayo Fayose, the former Ekiti State governor has a case with the EFCC and he has been at loggerheads with Makinde in recent times.
The Oyo governor said, “They told me that one of our leaders has been the major individual causing trouble in the South-West (PDP) and we deliberated to ask why that is so, and we said maybe because of the EFCC case or something like that.
“I said that shouldn’t be, because it is better to stay with your own party. Even if you have the EFCC case, the people that went and joined them [ruling party]; there is Joshua Dariye from Plateau and Reverend Jolly Nyame from Taraba, they ended up in jail. Even Governor Orji Uzor Kalu, it was only God that brought him out.
“So, that leader should forget about the EFCC case and do what is right for the party. Because I will just say it, for 2023, even God has rejected APC; the people of Nigeria have rejected them. They can be jumping around saying this one or that one wants to be president in 2023, if we (PDP) get in, there will be double jeopardy for him because he will have to run back from APC to PDP.”
Makinde also declared the suspension of the Chairman of the PDP in South-West as illegal, saying the members lacked such powers.
He stressed that the members that purportedly removed Dayo Ogungbenro as the zonal chairman did not have the required number to do so.
The governor said the reconciliation committee headed by former governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola, would continue with their assignment to unite the party in the South-West.
He said, “They don’t have the power to suspend the chairman. Even if you go constitutional, you know, five out of 12 is more than 45 percent. So, let’s even say they want to follow the constitution, you will need at least two-thirds by the constitution of the party. And two-third of 12 is eight.
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“So, they don’t have that power and I am speaking now as the only governor of PDP in the South-West, the national leadership will respect my position on such matters.”