Lagos PDP endorses Makinde as south-west leader

The Lagos state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has endorsed Seyi Makinde, governor of Oyo, as leader of the opposition party in the south-west zone.

The party’s leadership in Lagos pledged its support for the governor during a stakeholders’ meeting at the government house, Ibadan, the state capital, on Saturday.

Makinde and Ayodele Fayose, former governor of Ekiti, have been at loggerheads over the leadership of the PDP in the south-west zone.

In a statement, Taiwo Adisa, chief press secretary to governor, said the Lagos PDP leaders expressed gratitude to Makinde for his leadership in the region.

He said Dayo Ogungbenro, the caretaker zonal chairman of the party, affirmed Makinde as the leader of the party in the zone.

Adisa quoted Waliu Hassan, deputy chairman of the PDP in Lagos, and Rita Orji, former house of representatives member, as saying Makinde should continue leading the party in the region.

The party chieftains said members of the PDP in Lagos have agreed to resolve their crisis so as to ensure that the party takes over the baton of leadership come 2023.

“The purpose of today’s meeting, to be very precise, is to thank Governor Makinde for standing by the party and to pledge total loyalty to his leadership of the South-West. No more, no less,” the Lagos PDP leaders were quoted to have said.

“We can tell you that the governor does not want anything from us. He, as the Chief Security Officer of Oyo State, needs nothing from the party, rather we are the ones who came all the way from Lagos, to plead with him to keep leading the party.

“We resolved to, irrespective of any rancor, move the party forward and we will ensure that the party takes its better seat in 2023.

“We did not come here to discuss who takes anything for zonal congress. The congress will soon come up and for all we care, we have come to restate our commitment to our own governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, and we stand by him anywhere he is going on the issue of the South West.”

Adisa said the meeting was attended by the full structure of the Lagos PDP executives, and that 12 executive council members were present out of 19 as well as the 17 non-working committee members of the party.