Controversy as Makinde’s move to resolve Ekiti PDP crisis ends in stalemate

The crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State has become deeper following the failure of Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State to resolve the crisis between former Governor Ayodele Fayose and Biodun Olujimi’s backed parallel executives.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the crisis began when some loyalists of Mr Fayose supported Mrs Olujimi to win the Ekiti South Senatorial District seat in the 2019 National Assembly elections.

While some members of the party felt Mrs Olujimi will provide quality leadership in Ekiti PDP, others felt she was trying to take away the powers of Mr Fayose in the opposition party.

In August, the two rival groups elected separate officials for the PDP state working committee.

While Mrs Olujimi’s faction produced a former member of the House of Representatives, Kehinde Odebunmi, as chairman, Mr Fayose’s group produced a former commissioner for environment, Bisi Kolawole, as chairman.

As the leader of the party in the southwest, Governor Makinde moved to settle the crisis rocking the opposition party in Ekiti but was rejected by Mr Fayose.

The former governor on Wednesday said that Mr Makinde had no right to interfere in the crisis rocking Ekiti PDP.

“The fact that there is a sitting governor does not say I should go to another man’s state. Nobody should come to my state; if you come to my state, I will face you squarely. I will continue to respect him because he is my brother, I love him so much and I was part of his emergence,” he warned.

Reacting to this, Mr Makinde through a statement by his Special Adviser on Strategy and Political Matters, Babatunde Oduyoye, on Thursday, said he would not stop trying his best to reconcile aggrieved members.

“We will strongly advise that stakeholders in the PDP whether in Ondo or Ekiti states should not allow themselves to be used by the opposition to distract Governor Makinde and derail the PDP”, part of the statement read. “We wish to advise that all stakeholders and lovers of the PDP should come to terms with the reconciliatory approach of Governor Makinde, which is aimed at bringing unity and more successes to the party that has suffered needlessly in the last few years.”

Also, Mrs Olujimi told the Oyo governor to ignore Mr Fayose, describing him as a ‘political jobber’.

“We stand by Makinde because nobody can rubbish him and wish him away. This is the best time South-West Zone needs the governor most when ‘hijackers’ are trying to undermine the party’s structure through egregious conspiracy”, she was quoted by Punch at her faction political meeting on Thursday.

She also said that Uche Secondus-led National Working Committee of the party, on Thursday, ratified Mr Kolawole -led state executive committee after Mr Fayose took the exco to the party secretariat in Abuja.

Meanwhile, Mr Odebunmi-led faction had, on Thursday, been to the High Court sitting in Ado-Ekiti, to challenge the ratification of the Mr Kolawole-led executive committee of the PDP.