The National leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Wednesday appealed to followers of former Governor of Oyo State, Senator Rasidi Adewolu Ladoja and other members of the party to henceforth cooperate with him (Ladoja) to deliver the state for the party in the 2019 general elections.
They made this known when a delegation from the national headquarters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) visited Ladoja at his Ondo Street, Ibadan residence.
Media reports that the delegation which comprised the National Secretary of PDP, Senator Umaru Tsavri; National Deputy Chairman (South) Elder Yemi Akinwonmi, and National Financial Secretary of the party, Hon. Abdullahi Waibasiru were in Ibadan to persuade him (Ladoja) and his teeming loyalists not to dump the party.
The delegation were received by Ladoja and other leaders of the Oyo PDP including former Minister of State for Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Oloye Jumoke Akinjide; former Secretary to Oyo State Government (SSG), Barrister Sarafadeen Abiodun Alli and the Minority Leader in the state House of Assembly, Hon. Akeem Ademola Ige; Hon. Yemi Aderibigbe, PDP Chairman in the state Alhaji Kunmi Mustapha; Engineer Akeem Olatunji and a member of the state House of Assembly Hon. Olusegun Olaleye.
Our correspondent recalled that Ladoja and his supporters had threatened to dump the Oyo PDP over what they described as impunity by the national headquarters of the party, after the controversial harmonization of the state executives.
But the PDP delegation while appealing to Ladoja and his supporters not to leave the party for any reason, however, urged PDP members in the state to cooperate with Ladoja in order to reclaim the state in 2019.
They also declared the former governor as the leader of the political party in the state.
Tsavri, while addressing PDP members after a closed door meeting that lasted for over two and half hours, declared that “Ladoja is PDP, PDP is Ladoja”.
He said the former governor is not only the party’s leader in the state, but in the entire Southwest geopolitical zone.
He, therefore, urged all party members in all the zones of Oyo state to give Ladoja the necessary support needed to deliver the state to the party in next year’s general elections.
Also speaking with journalists after the meeting, Elder Akinwonmi explained that the need to restore peace into Oyo PDP necessitated the visit to Ibadan.
Akinwonmi, however, said that the national headquarters was yet to take a decision on the issue of the harmonization of state executives.
He said, “We are here to bring peace to Oyo PDP. We have listened to him, and we are going to inform the Wadata Plaza of all that we have heard here today.”