After polls, fresh crisis rocks Ondo PDP
Fresh crisis has hit the Ondo chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of next year’s governorship election as some members of the party have begun move to remove the present leadership under Fatai Adams. Sources in the PDP said the move to effect change in the party’s leadership in Ondo State was as a result of the poor performances of party in the Presidential/National Assembly and Assembly elections.
The Ondo PDP could only win one House of Representatives seats and four seats in the Ondo Assembly.
In 2019, Ondo PDP won the presidential election, two senatorial seats and four House of Representatives seats.
It was learnt that the move to remove the present leadership of the party was to weaken Barr. Eyitayo Jegede’s influence in the party and stop him from contesting the party primaries.
The Council of Young Leaders in Peoples Democratic Party (CYLI-PDP) in a letter to National Chairman of the party, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, said the Ondo PDP has become an intrepid, weak, ineffectual and highly fragmented association of strange bedfellows.
It expressed sadness at what it termed dismal and shameful performance of the party in the last Presidential, National Assembly and State House of Assembly elections.
Coordinator of the group, Mr. Wande Ajayi, said the party’s state leadership has been unable to administer the party in such a way and manner as to achieve it’s primary purpose of winning elections.
According to the letter: “We have squandered our goodwill with the good people of Ondo state and have become a third-rated political party within a very short period of time.
“It is noteworthy to state, that the Ondo State PDP under it’s current leadership, has failed to improve over its successes in the 2019 national elections, but has fallen dramatically to a level where it now plays catch-up to other parties. Needless to say that the outcome of the last presidential election suffices as evidence.
“We would like to use this medium to call on critical stakeholders and the National Secretariat of the PDP, to consider immediate actions to help remedy the lack of clear purposeful and committed leadership we are saddled with currently in the Ondo state chapter.
“While we understand the need for a post mortem of the total failure of the party in the last elections, we must emphasize the need to have an immediate overhaul of the party machineries, to enable us ample time to deal with preparations for the forthcoming Gubernatorial elections in Ondo state.
“While acknowledging the daunting task of rebuilding confidence amongst loyal party members ahead of party, we insist that the current leadership of the party should step aside and give room for an unbiased caretaker committee while investigations be conducted to ascertain allegations of culpability on their part in the loss we have all suffered.”