By Our Correspondent
The executive members of the Peoples Democratic Party in Oyo North Senatorial District have declared that members of the party in the district are united behind Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde.
The party leaders, in a communiqué issued after a meeting, a copy of which was obtained by our correspondent in Ibadan, the state capital, on Monday stated that despite the defection of Senator Ayoola Agboola and a few of his loyalists, the party would remain strong.
Agboola, a close ally of Governor Makinde, recently resigned from the ruling party in the state.
Agboola, a former Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs between 2007 and 2011, was also the only PDP senator from the South-West between 2011 and 2015.
However, the party leaders explained that they were committed to ensuring that the PDP retained its dominance in future elections.
At the meeting, chaired by the Oyo North PDP Senatorial Chairman and former member of the state House of Assembly, Yinusa Yusuff, the party said, “We declare our total and unanimous support for our great party, PDP, under the leadership of Governor Makinde.”
The leaders added that they had confidence in the governor’s leadership and that of the PDP in the state.
They said, “The defections of Agboola and a few former political office holders would not have a major impact on the party, as most of them didn’t make meaningful contributions to the party’s success in the 2023 elections.
“Agboola and a few others defected for selfish interests. The ex-National Assembly member hand-picked all ten council chairmen from Oke-Ogun and produced party executives across the ten councils a few years ago, and the decision to defect was to scavenge for political favours.
“The people of Oyo North Senatorial District are wise and would never allow selfish interests to override the collective interest of the zone, which has enjoyed massive development under Makinde.”
The communiqué highlighted major infrastructure projects, including the Ibadan–Iseyin Road, Oyo–Iseyin Road, Iseyin–Fapote–Ogbomoso Road, Saki Township Road, the limited rehabilitation of the Iganna–Elekookan–Igangan Road, the ongoing construction of the Ijio–Idiko Ile–Ayegun–Wasi̇nmi Road, and the reconstruction of the Saki–Ogbooro–Igboho Road.
It added that the planned rehabilitation of the 30km Ogbomoso inner roads, as well as the construction of the LAUTECH Campus in Iseyin, among others — all situated in Oyo North — had significantly impacted the district’s development. It noted that the people would continue to support Governor Makinde and the PDP despite the “falsehood being peddled by Agboola and his loyalists.”
“We, Oyo North Senatorial PDP Exco, comprising state officials of the PDP from the district, local government party chairmen across the 13 LGs, as well as local government chairmen, following a meeting in Iseyin, deliberated on the affairs of the party in our senatorial district and the state, and hereby agree as follows:
“That we declare our total and unanimous support to our great party, PDP, under the leadership of Makinde.
“That we repose absolute confidence in his leadership and the leadership of the PDP in the state, and assure that our members across the 13 local government areas of the district remain solidly with the party.
“That the recent defections of Agboola and a few loyalists do not have any major impact on Oyo North PDP, as our members remain committed to the PDP and are resolved to ensure its massive success in the coming general elections.
“That our teeming members have resolved never to allow a few individuals’ selfish interests to override the overall interest of Oyo North Senatorial District and the interest of the Oyo North PDP, which Your Excellency has protected over the last six years, delivering historic infrastructure projects and other achievements across different sectors.
“That Oyo North PDP members, and indeed the people of Oyo North Senatorial District, have resolved to stand with the PDP as a result of the massive development projects executed across the district by Makinde in the last six years and some months.
“That there is a renewed zeal in terms of contact and mobilisation to make the PDP stronger across the senatorial district and in terms of voter registration, which is ongoing across the country. We have resolved to prove the PDP’s superiority through the polls, as the PDP remains the party to beat in Oyo North and the state generally.”
