LEADERS of the Peoples
Democratic Party from the South-West on Thursday night confronted President
Goodluck Jonathan with a detailed account of how his government has
marginalised the zone in the scheme of things.
Saturday Tribune exclusively
learnt that about 150 leaders of the PDP from the six states of the zone,
comprising all former governors elected on the platform of the party, their
deputies, members of the National Executive Committee (NEC), members of the
Board of Trustees (BOT), former and serving ministers, former and serving
members of the National Assembly and a host of others, on Thursday night
stormed the Presidential Villa, Aso Rock, Abuja, where they presented their
grievances on the marginalisation of the zone to President Jonathan.
According to a competent
source, on the side of President Jonathan at the meeting which lasted for about
two hours were Vice President Namadi Sambo, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, National
Chairman of the PDP; Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, Secretary to the Government of
the Federation (SGF), and the Chief of Staff to the President, Chief Mike
Ogiadhome, among others.
It was gathered that the tone
of the crucial meeting was reportedly set by one of the leaders of the
delegation and a former Deputy National Chairman of the Party, Chief Olabode
George, who presented a position paper on behalf of the zone which catalogued
the woes of the South-West and its complete marginalisation under the
administration of Jonathan.
The source revealed that
some of the complaints included indiscriminate removal of people from the zone
from key ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) and their replacements
coming from a particular zone of the country, the dissolution of the zonal
executive committee of the party and its replacement with a caretaker committee
without any sign of organising new congresses for a new one despite the
approaching governorship elections in Osun and Ekiti states in 2014, and the
need for the president to urgently intervene personally in addressing the
complaints if the party would continue to be relevant in the zone.
In addition, the party leaders
in the position paper reportedly reassured President Jonathan of the zone’s
support for his administration as done in the past, which would be sustained
now and in the future, saying that it was on record that the Yoruba people had
never voted for anti-progressive parties or supported anti-progressives forces
in whatever form in the past.
The president, who reportedly
listened to the complaints of the zone as catalogued by George, was said to
have acknowledged their grievances and promised to address all the issues
raised in order to correct the obvious imbalance and place the zone at its
rightful position in the scheme of things under his administration.
According to the source,
President Jonathan told the delegation that he had always been pro-South-West
zone, and that he even supported it over the Speaker of the House of
Representatives seat allotted to it under the PDP’s zoning arrangement in 2011,
but lamented that the arrangement was truncated by some cliques from the same
zone.
It was, however, gathered that
President Jonathan advised the PDP leaders to go back home and put their house
in order in their respective states for the party to regain its lost glory by
reclaiming the states from the opposition in future elections.
He was said to have also urged
the leaders to work towards producing consensus governorship candidates for the
party in Osun and Ekiti states in the 2014 gubernatorial elections to avoid
witnessing another round of crises that would follow the primary elections, so
that the party could have the two states back ahead of the 2015 when it would
have been formidable enough to reclaim other states in the zone.
Among those in attendance were
former governors Olagunsoye Oyinlola (Osun), Isiaka Adeleke (Osun), Segun
Oni (Ekiti), Ayodele Fayose (Ekiti), Olusegun Agagu (Ondo), Gbenga Daniel
(Ogun); Chief Ebenezer Babatope, BOT member; Alhaji Shuaibu Oyedokun,
member of BOT; Prof, Taoheed Adedoja, former Sports Minister; Senator Jubril
Martins-Kuye, former Minister of State Finance; Chief Tunji Sarafa Ishola,
Former Minister of Steel Development; Senator Olasunkanmi Akinlabi, former
Minister of Youth Development; and Otunba Oyewole Fasawe.
They also include Navy Captain
Caleb Olubolade (rtd), Minister of Police Affairs; Chief Jumoke Akinjide,
Minister of State, FCT; Chief Yekini Adeojo, former Deputy National Chairman of
the PDP; Brig.-General Raji Rasaki; Chief Olusola Oke, PDP governorship
candidate, Ondo; Alhaja Bose Adedibu, widow of the late Alhaji Lamidi Adedibu;
Senators Teslim Folarin (former Senate Leader), Hosea Agboola, Adeseye
Ogunlewe, Iyiola Omosore; Honourable Mulikat Adeola-Akande, House Leader, and
Hon Muriana Ajibola, member, House of Representatives; Chief (Mrs) Abiodun
Olujimi, former deputy governor, Ekiti; Chief Kasamu Buruji, and Senator C. K.
Awoyelu.
Source: Tribune
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