Crisis hits South-West PDP over national chairman slot

Fresh crisis is brewing in the Peoples Democratic party (PDP), South West, over the national Chairmanship ticket of the party zoned to the area.
The South West Board of Trustees, BOT, caucus of the party had pruned the numbers of chairmanship aspirants from the Zone to three, with a promise to pick one of the trio as a consensus candidate for the office.

In a document signed by Alhaji Shuibu Oyedokun, a Board member on behalf of others, he said those selected were Professor Taoheed Adedoja, one time Sports and Special Duties Minister, Chief Olabode George, Former National Vice and Deputy Chairman of the Party and Professor Tunde Adeniran, Former Education Minister.
But, the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the South West has dissociated itself from the purported endorsement of some aspirants vying to contest the national chairmanship of the party.
The National Vice Chairman and regional chairman, Dr. Eddy Olafeso, in a statement made available to journalists in Akure on Monday , described the claim by some aspirants as an act of impunity.
According to him, the party “will not support any action that will infringe on the fundamental rights of any party man to aspire to the highest position in the party.

“In furtherance of this, we affirm that all those gentlemen from the South West that wish to contest for the position of the National Chairman of the party are at liberty to continue to pursue their ambition without encumbrance or hindrance.”
Olafeso noted that the Board of Trustees (BoT) members of the party were resolute on their decisions not to interfere in the election by allowing all the aspirants to have equal right to contest.
“We however declare that we remain in constant touch with stakeholders in the South West who possess the legitimate right to proffer guidance and input required to position and promote the party.
“The issue of adopting a common position in the party is a serious action that must take due cognizance of every tendency within the party,” he said.

The chairman stressed that the party was people-oriented and not the personal estate of a few, warning that the executive would not tolerate any act of impunity from anybody irrespective of their status.
“We therefore conclude that no one has been barred from pursuing their ambitions in any manner,” he said.