Makinde Dispels Claims Of Crack In Southern PDP – Independent Newspaper Nigeria

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…Throws Shade At Wike: ‘I Won’t Go Into Gutters With Him’
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Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State on Thursday dispelled claims of crack in the Southern Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), after some state chairmen of the party, former governors, National Assembly members and other key stakeholders from Southern Ni­geria disowned a zoning meeting held in Lagos.

On Thursday, stakeholders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the South met in Lagos to deliberate on zoning arrange­ments ahead of the party’s na­tional convention scheduled for November 15 and 16 in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

Makinde noted that the party is positioning itself to take back its rightful position in Nigeria, stressing that those who claimed that the main opposition party is now dead have been proved wrong with the caliber of people who were present at the consultative meeting in Lagos.

The governor stated these while addressing a press confer­ence on Thursday in Lagos after the stakeholders’ closed door meeting.

“We just finished a consulta­tive meeting of the PDP zoning committee for the South and nothing should stop us from con­sulting. Democracy is about the minority having its say and the majority having its way. We’re democrats, the South has taken far reaching decisions and in the days ahead leading to our NEC, wider consultations will also take place.

“We’re sure that those that have been saying all around that PDP is dead, is now in carcass, at least with the caliber of people that you see here, sitting gover­nors, former governors, former senate presidents, leaders, chair­man of our Board of Trustees (BoT), they’re proved wrong. These leaders are committed to PDP taking back its rightful posi­tion in Nigeria. In the days ahead some of the things discussed here you’ll see them manifest”, he said.

Responding to questions from journalists on insinuations that some governors will soon be de­fecting to the All Progressives Congress (APC), he said, “Let me speak about the people here, Gov­ernor Adeleke is here. He came back into the country this morn­ing. He went straight to Osogbo to address some issues. He said that whatever we discuss here, he is with us. Governor Douye Diri is here, Governor Peter Mbah, who couldn’t make it physically, sent his deputy governor. The chair­man of our BoT is here. At least 12 of the 17 members of the zon­ing committee from the South are here. It’s one per state, so you have 12 here. In each zone you have reps members here. We have senators from each of three zones here. We have BoT members from the three zones. Yes, I won’t say the organ­isers will score 100 percent. You don’t score 100 percent in politics and quite frankly they’re mem­bers of PDP and consultation means that you keep reaching out, you keep engaging. So, from this meeting we’ll also reach out and even do more. We’re trying to get all members, all tendencies in PDP together so that we can give a credible alternative to Nigerians in the years ahead.”

Speaking on zoning, he said, “We didn’t discuss micro zoning. A decision is coming. it’s a NEC decision”.

“This consultative meeting is not something that is statutory in the constitution of PDP but de­mocracy is inclusivity, reaching out to and ensuring that all stake­holders are carried along. Which is what we have done today.”

On whether the South will produce the next presidential can­didate, he said, “We haven’t even gotten there, we need to have a party first before you start talking of presidential candidate. If we don’t have a party, anything that you’re trying to do will fall flat. So, our effort right now is directed at towards a virile and united PDP that Nigerians will be proud of and believe in.

When responding to a ques­tion as to the threat given by the FCT minister, Nyesom Wike, in respect of Dan Orbih, South South Vice National Chairman, Makinde said, “When people go low or go into the gutters, I don’t go with them.”

On those members that are still aggrieved like the Minority Leader of the House of Repre­sentatives, Kingsley Chinda, who earlier addressed a press confer­ence in Abuja, on behalf a group claiming to be Southern Leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), that distanced themselves from the Lagos meeting, he said, “We’ll reach out to them. That is democracy. I can disagree with people but what matters is what we’re giving to Nigerians. In Oyo State, on Saturday it was shown that PDP is not dead in most states in the last by-elections, PDP came second. We want to get to the level where Nigerians will listen to us.”

The meeting attracted the Chairman of PDP Board of Trustees (BoT), Senator Adolphus Wabara; chairman of the party’s National Zoning Committee and Bayelsa State governor, Douyo Diri; Governors Ademola Adeleke of Osun State, Peter Mba of Enu­gu, represented by his deputy, If­eanyi Ossai; former Osun gover­nor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola; Chief Bode George, and Senator Monsurat Sunmonu.

Others include 12 of the 17 PDP National Assembly members and key stakeholders of the party from across the southern states.

Earlier, a group claiming to be Southern Leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) distanced themselves from the Lagos meet­ing aimed at making decisions on the zoning of party offices ahead of the party’s November elective national convention.

Kingsley Chinda, the Mi­nority Leader of the House of Representatives at the National Assembly, made the disclosure during a press briefing in Abuja, on Thursday.

Chinda, attributed this to the “unanimous decision and a resolution reached by some key southern leaders of the party in­cluding State Chairmen of Imo, Abia, Cross River, Akwa Ibom and Rivers Stats, as well as former gov­ernors, National Assembly mem­bers, present and past members of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) members, among others.

According to him, the meeting tagged ‘PDP Southern Consulta­tive Summit’ was convened on behalf of the three Southern geo­political zones by the party’s Ad­min Secretary, zoning committee on the behest of the chairman of the committee, Governor Duoye Diri, of Bayelsa State.

Chinda lamented that the Diri led zoning committee has “delib­erately excluded the “Southern Leaders”, adding that “actions such as this are likely to cause problems within the PDP and as such it is pertinent to address it in order avert such incidence.

“It is highly regrettable and indeed deeply disturbing that such a meeting was convened without the courtesy of inviting several state chairmen from the South East and South South, as well as the duly elected National Secretary and Deputy National Legal Adviser of our great party.

“Even more troubling is the inexplicable exclusion of several national officers, eminent lead­ers, and critical stakeholders of the PDP. Shockingly, the Minority Leader in the National Assembly and other principal officers of our party from the South-South and South-East were also deliberately sidelined and denied participation in a meeting where such far-reach­ing and sensitive decisions on zon­ing, power rotation, and political equity are to be discussed.

“Take notice that where any iota of regard is given to the out­come of the purported meeting, we shall not hesitate to take ap­propriate steps in line with our party’s constitution to resist the same with full force.”

Southern PDP Didn’t Disown Lagos Stakeholders Meeting, Says CP-PDP

Meanwhile, the Conference of Professionals in the Peoples Dem­ocratic Party (CP-PDP) has said that the leaders of the PDP in the South did not dismiss the stake­holders summit duly organised by the party’s Zoning Committee in Lagos on Thursday.

The CP-PDP, which said it can authoritatively verify that the leaders of the PDP in the South did not dismiss the meeting, rec­ommended disciplinary action against divisive elements. It urged the PDP members and the general public to disregard claims.

The CP-PDP said instead, the leaders of the party in the South didn’t only embrace the summit but massively attended for consul­tation with the Zoning Committee set up by the party’s National Ex­ecutive Committee (NEC) on the zoning of national offices ahead of the national convention sched­uled to hold in Ibadan, Oyo State capital on November 15 and 16, 2025.

The CP-PDP, in a statement by its Protem National Coordinator, Obinna Nwachukwu, verified that the Zoning Committee led by Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State duly invited and had in at­tendance at the meeting, relevant stakeholders from the South including the four PDP state gov­ernors, Board of Trustees (BoT) members, the three National Vice Chairmen from the South, serv­ing senators, serving members of the House of Representatives, state chairmen, former governors and all members of the Zoning Committee from the South for consultation in line with the man­date assigned to the committee by the party’s NEC.

“Any resolution or recommen­dation reached at the summit would therefore be valid, authen­tic and recognised by the party.

“It is thus imprudent and highly irresponsible for some in­dividuals to attempt to discredit the valid and lawful activity of a body duly constituted by the NEC by attempting to mislead the public and members of our great party by claiming that the PDP leaders of the South are averse to the summit and that the summit was shrouded in secrecy,” CP-PDP said.

The CP-PDP added that the in­formation available to the Confer­ence reveal that “these misguided individuals are being teleguided and sponsored by a prominent minister in the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration who has not hidden his intention to scuttle the scheduled national convention of the PDP.

“The thoughtless action of these puppet politicians is in gross violation of the provisions of the constitution of the PDP (as amended in 2017) which attracts serious penalty specifically under Section 58 (1) (h) (j) of the PDP con­stitution.

“In light of the provisions of the PDP constitution, the Confer­ence urged the National Working Committee (NWC) to immedi­ately sanction all the individuals in the amorphous group which sought to discredit the activities of the Zoning Committee.”

The CP-PDP, therefore, urged all party members and the gener­al public to disregard the claims as the party is solidly behind the Douye Diri-led Zoning Commit­tee as it continues to consult party stakeholders in the course of its assignment.