By Myke Uzendu, Abuja
The attempt to zero in on a consensus candidate for the office of Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) may have hit a brick wall as stake holders in the South West have opposed the candidate of Oyo State governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde.
Makinde who is the only PDP governor and leader of the party in the zone is scheming for the emergence of former Osun state governor, Olagunsoye Oyinlola as Deputy National Chairman (South) The AUTHORITY learnt.
But stakeholders and leaders of PDP, in the South-West described the choice of the governor as ‘dictatorial’ and reward for disloyalty.
Our correspondent gathered that though the stakeholders do not have issues with the distribution of offices zoned to the South-West; they are not happy with alleged move by Makinde to make Onyinlola the candidate of the zone after he abandoned the party in 2015. They said that the move was more or less rewarding Oyinlola with “such a lofty position” in the NWC after an unsuccessful political voyage. This they said implies that party loyalty is of no value.
One of the stake holders who spoke to our reporter in confidence said, “We in the Osun state chapter of our party prefer Professor Wale Oladapo as deputy national chairman (South) of our great party. When Oyinlola left the PDP to team up with like-minds to bring President Muhammadu Buhari on us, others stayed put to rebuild the party. One of such persons is Professor Oladapo. He replaced Oyinlola as National Secretary of the PDP.
“We gathered that even his colleague governors are not happy with his dictatorial dispositions. Let me put it this way that we are not fighting the governor. No one raised a voice about how positions zoned to the region were distributed but we don’t want Oyinlola. As a listening leader that we think he is, the governor should listen to us and do the needful, “he said.
Onyinlola had earlier declared his intentions to replace the embattled national chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus but his aspiration was cut short by the Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi-led committee that zoned the position to the North.
