Defections: PDP must hold members together, says Makinde

Seyi Makinde

Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) must do everything within its reach to hold its members together following the wind of defections which hit the party. The governor said this on Thursday when receiving reports from the reconciliation committee headed by the Former Osun State Governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola.

In a statement, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Taiwo Adisa, said the governor appreciated the members including former Deputy Governor of Ondo State, Ambassador Omolade Oluwateru; Dr Saka Balogun and Secretary, Olayinka Kukoyi. The governor said, “I want to thank the reconciliation committee for presenting the report. This is a confirmation that when elders are somewhere, they do not do their job halfway but they complete it. Actually, we have quite a bit to learn from our elders and from how you have done things in the past.

Yes, the congress has basically come and gone but our party is still in need of getting all the tendencies together, not just in the South-West but even nationally. Between when this committee was set up and now, I believe two governors from the party’s platform have defected to the APC. A number of our lawmakers at the national level; senators, members of the House of Representatives are defecting.

“So, this report is coming at the right time for us to go ahead, look at it and still try to pull our people together irrespective of the outcome of the zonal congress. That is why, a few days ago, the governors from the southern part of the country came together and, without thinking of party affiliations, we took far-reaching decisions in the interest of this country; in the interest of fairness, equity and justice for everybody in the country.”
Oyinlola, while submitting the report of the committe said the committee did all it could to reconcile the warring factions in all the six states within the South-West zone. He urged the governor and party leaders to look into all recommendations made in the report, as, according to him, they will go a long way to keep the party in good stead in the South-West zone.