Selfish members behind Oyo PDP parallel congresses: Party chieftain, Dare Adeleke

Ex-youth leader, South West Zone of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Hon. Dare Adeleke has alleged that parallel State executive congresses of the party held on Saturday in Ibadan, Oyo State capital was as a result of connivance of the state caretaker committee chairman, Hon. Tunde Akogun with some party leaders in the state.
He accused them of altering the delegates’ list for the congress.

Adeleke made this allegation while speaking with journalists at the venue of a factional congress of the party held at Baptist Secondary School, Liberty Road, Oke-Ado, Ibadan.
He explained that all the interest groups within the party had agreed on the sharing formular and the delegates’ list but that to his dismay, Akogun and some leaders within the party altered the list by substituting the names of the delegates with their own people to pave way for them to fill all the important position at the state executive level.
Adeleke said “When we got aware of this, we protested and went to the committee, that if we are going to go ahead with a united congress, the original list of the delegates where five local government congresses have been nullified at the wards and local government should be used or follow agreed sharing formula.
“The agreed sharing formular was that the group that presented state chairman will have 13 positions while the group that presented state secretary will have 14 positions.

“But to our dismay, Hon Akogun connived with other group in such a way that the group will present both chairman and secretary, treasurer and the same time share the remaining position with other groups.
“When a group is having the chairman, secretary and treasurer, you should know that, that group is having the soul of the party.
“And I can confidently tell you that apart from Chief Yekeen Adeojo who has quit active politics, I am the oldest member of the party in Oyo state, all these people who want to take the soul of the party by all means joined us later while some have left the party one time or the other.
“But I think with this congresses, the national secretariat will look into the issue holistically and harmonise the position without favour or bias”.

But, all efforts by DAILY POST on Sunday to get the reactions of the caretaker committee chairman of the party in the state Hon. Tunde Akogun proved abortive.
DAILY POST had reported yesterday that members of the party on Saturday held parallel state congresses to elect state executives of the party.
But despite this development, leaders of the political party in the state insisted that Oyo PDP remained one, and was determined to capture power in 2019.
It was gathered the bone of contention was how to share party executives among different interest groups within the Oyo PDP.
A meeting to broker peace between the two groups was fruitless.
While former Social Democratic Party (SDP) governorship candidate in the state, Engineer Seyi Makinde and other party leaders held their own inside Baptist Secondary School, Liberty Road, Oke-Ado, former Governor of the state, Senator Rashidi Ladoja and other party leaders held their state congress at an event center located at Old Ife Road area of Ibadan.
Those at the Oke-Ado congress were; Makinde, Senator Hosea Ayoola Agboola, Hon. Mulikat Adeola Akande Alhaji Hazeem Gbolarumi, Alhaja Bose Adedibu, Hon. Oluyemi Taiwo Hon. Tirimisiyu Okunola, and Hon. Dare Adeleke.
Over 750 accredited delegates at the Oke-Ado unanimously elected Chief Jacob Adetoro as the State chairman, and Wasiu Adeleke, as the State Secretary.
Senator Agboola, Akanda, Gbolarumi and Alhaja Adedibu, who addressed party members at the congress denied the insinuation that there was rancour among PDP leaders in the state.
In his own speech, Agboola said party leaders brainstormed throughout the morning to ensure that all was well within Oyo PDP, adding that the political party remained one in the state.
Makinde in the same vein declared that leaders of the Oyo PDP have resolved to work together to ensure that the political party returns to power in the state in 2019.
“What we are witnessing here today is normal in politics. There is no rancour among us. What we are doing here today will lay foundation for our party to return to power in 2019”, he said.