South-West PDP may break away after May 21st national convention

The South-west geopolitical zone of the Peoples Democratic Party has vowed to leave the party if the zone is denied the opportunity to produce the next national chairman of the party.

One of the members, Doyin Okupe, who is a former presidential aide told Premium Times on Monday, April 25 that leaders of the party in the zone are already in working on the next course of action if the zone is “robbed” of the position of national chairman at the party’s national convention scheduled to hold on May 21.

Others in the plan includes former Deputy National Chairman of the party, Olabode George; the governorship candidate of the party in Lagos in the 2015 election, Jimi Agbaje and Gbenga Daniel, a former governor of Ogun State.

Also, former Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory, Olajumoke Akinjide; a former Minister of Works, Adeseye Ogunlewe and party chieftain, Bode Olajumoke are also party to this plan.

He said: “We took a firm position which was that we will dump the party en masse if we get robbed again at this year’s convention.”

In light of the plan, Okupe advised Governor Emmanuel Udom of Akwa Ibom State to do the right thing by zoning the chairmanship of the party to the southwest geopolitical zone.

The PDP zoning committee is expected to convene on Today, April 26th in Uyo, where the party’s zoning formula would be determined.

Okupe stated that Udom’s decision when the committee convenes would show if he would be judged as a villain or hero.

He also revealed that the Yoruba people have been relegated by the party for too long and that the only way the party could remedy the injustice is to allow the South-West nominate the next chairman.

“Governor Udom is a young gentleman whom I believe still has a long future in Nigerian politics ahead of him,” Mr. Okupe said. “It will be unfortunate if he allowed himself to be used to relegate Yoruba people within the affairs of the party once again. The PDP has done a lot of wrongs to the Yoruba people and our position now is that they should start making amends by allowing us to present the next chairman.”

The former presidential aide further declared that zoning the prized position to the north is tantamount to “robbery and betrayal” of the South-West seeing that the presidential ticket for 2019 had already been zoned to the north.