• South West not sidelined –Odeyemi
From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja and Bamigbola Gbolagunte, Akure
Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Post-Convention Reconciliation Committee and Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, said the panel has met with aggrieved aspirants and other stateholders, over the outcome of the party’s last Saturday’s national elective convention.
A statement issued by the committee Secretary, Chief Onyema Ugochukwu, in Abuja, yesterday, said the panel has reached out to former PDP deputy national chairman, Chief Olabode George, former Education minister, Professor Tunde Adeniran, High Chief Raymond Dokpesi, Senator Rashidi Ladoja among others.
Another statement from the governor’s aide, last night, said the panel met former Information minister, Professor Jerry Gana, former Deputy Senate President, Ibrahim Mantu and former minister of Women Affairs, Hajia Inna Ciroma.
Adeniran and Ciroma lost out in respective bids to be national chairman and national women leader at the PDP convention.
During the panel’s visit, Adeniran urged them to also reach out to members who worked hard to ensure the preservation of the party, even though they didn’t contest any elective post at the convention.
“I don’t see any genuine member of this party who will question your choice for this kind of role. It is not necessarily because you are a governor, it is because you are passionate about this party; it is because you have a sense of fairness, you also believe that things should be done properly, as you carry everybody along in what you are doing.”
On his part, Gana said he would never leave the PDP for whatever reason.
He, however, said he has some serious observations that would make the opposition party stronger.
Dickson also met with the National Chairman party, Prince Uche Secondus, on Monday.
Accompanied by other members of the committee, Dickson reportedly met with Secondus at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.
The committee is saddled with the task of reconciling members of the party aggrieved with the outcome of last Saturday’s convention.
Meanwhile, National Deputy Publicity Secretary of the party, Prince Diran Odeyemi, has dismissed insinuations that the South West was sidelined at the last convention.
He accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of orchestrating the rumour.
Odeyemi declared that the PDP is a national party, with representatives from all regions, in the National Working Committee, with equal rights and privileges.
He also said the PDP, being a truly national party, holds the South West in high esteem and recognises its contributions in keeping alive the ideals of the party.
He, however, blamed activities of some aspirants from the zone, for its inability to clinch the national chairmanship position.
South West, said Odeyemi, is not only fully recognised in the PDP, but will also play a critical role in returning the party to power in 2019.
“PDP is the only national party with spread across all geo-political zones of the country. We hold in high esteem the contributions of the South West to our party.
“We advise politicians from the region to learn from what happened at the last national elective convention and allow peace within their fold.
“We also urge them to do more in empowering youths from the region; to enable them play more prominent roles as the country prepares for general elections in 2019.”