Some PDP’s stalwarts across the southwest are moving toward presenting a candidate fir the party’s national chairmanship contest in the forthcoming convention in December.
Ekiti Gov Ayo Fayose convened a meeting Minday night, bringing together former governor of Oyo State, Rashidi Ladoja; a former Deputy National Chairman of the PDP, Chief Bode George; a former Minister of Information, Chief Dapo Sarumi; a former National Vice-Chairman of the PDP (South-West), Tajudeen Oladipupo.
Fayose said he convened the meeting to “to share aspirations with them, find a common ground and go to the convention as an indivisible and united” group.
The governor said it would be wrong for the South-West PDP to “go to the convention like people without cohesion”.
He said there would be subsequent meetings which would involve other key stakeholders of the party in the region to decide on a candidate among the aspirants vying for the position from the zone.
The national chairmanship position of the PDP has been zoned to the South-West but no fewer than four aspirants have mounted serious campaigns to vie for the party’s number one seat.
Those who have declared their interest in the position include George; a former governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel; a former Minister of Education, Prof. Tunde Adeniran; and a former Minister of Youths, Prof. Taoreed Adedoja.
Daniel and Adeniran were not at the meeting, but Fayose hoped they would be at subsequent ones.
According to him, Daniel sent a message that he could not make it to the venue of the meeting because he was held up.
Ladoja, who contested the 2015 governorship election in Oyo State on the platform of Accord Party, said he was officially back in the PDP.
Ladoja is not certain yet whether he will contest the party topmost seat. He said he will make up his mind by weekend.
Sen. Buruji Kashamu was not at the meeting, obviously highlighting the rancour between him and Fayose as their supremacy war in the region heats up.
Oladipupom however, said Fayose, being the only governor the PDP has in the southwest, deserves to be their rallying point.