Crisis: PDP won’t go into ‘gutter’ with Wike – Makinde

*Says NEC to decide on zoning Monday

*We’ll be reaching out to aggrieved members – Governors

By Dapo Akinrefon

Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, on Thursday, declared that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will not reduce itself to the “gutter level” of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike, just as he disclosed that the party’s National Executive Council (NEC) will take a stand on zoning and other issues during its meeting on Monday.

Makinde said this in Lagos during the stakeholders meeting of the zoning committee.

When asked if the issue of micro zoning was discussed, he said, “A decision is coming, and it is an NEC decision. This consultative meeting is not something that is statutory in the constitution of PDP. But democracy is inclusivity, reaching out and ensuring that all stakeholders are carried along, which is what we’ve done today.”

Further asked how soon a decisive decision on zoning is expected, he said, “NEC is on Monday. Today is Thursday. Our NEC is on Monday; you will definitely have a decision.”

On the issue about the South producing the next presidential candidate for the party, Makinde said, “We haven’t even gotten there. We need to have a party first before you start talking about presidential candidates. If we don’t have a party, anything that you’re trying to do will fall flat. So our efforts right now are directed towards having a united PDP that Nigerians will be proud of and again will believe in.”

Insisting that the party is focused on ensuring its survival, Makinde said, “We have just finished the consultative meeting of the PDP zoning committee for the south. The south has taken far-reaching decisions, and in the days ahead leading to our NEC, wider consultations will also take place, and we are sure that those that have been saying all around that PDP is dead and is now a carcass, at least with the calibre of the people that you’ve seen here, sitting governors, former governors, leaders and elders, the former senate president, and the chairman of BOT, are all here and committed to PDP taking back its rightful position in Nigeria. So in the days ahead, some of the things discussed here, you’ll see them unfold.

“Governor Ademola Adeleke came back into this country, and he went straight to Osogbo to address some governance issues. But he said whatever we decide here is with us.

“Governor Douye Diri is here. Governor Peter Mbah, who couldn’t make it physically, sent the deputy governor. You have the chairman of our board of trustees here. You also have at least 12 of the 17 members of the zoning committee from the south. It’s one per state. So you have 12 states here. You have, in each zone, House of Representatives members here. You have senators from each zone in the south, the three zones.

“You have BoT members from the three zones in the south. So, yes, I won’t say maybe the organisers will score 100%. You don’t score 100% in politics, and quite frankly, they are members of PDP. Consultation means you keep reaching out. We will also reach out and engage and even do more. We’re trying to get all stakeholders, all tendencies in the PDP together so that we can give a credible alternative to Nigerians in the years ahead.”

On the statement made by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, saying that the South-South zonal chairman, Dan Orbih, must not be removed, Makinde said, “Personally, when people go low, or they go into the gutters, I don’t go with them.”

Speaking on the efforts being made to reach out to aggrieved members, he said, “We will reach out to them. That is democracy. I can disagree with people, but there shouldn’t be anything personal here. It should be about what we are giving to Nigerians because they are watching. In Oyo State, they showed last Saturday that PDP is not dead. In most other places of the 12 states, PDP came second in each of those. It’s some indication to us that if we continue to work hard, if we continue to strive hard, if we continue to bring our people together, we’ll get to a point where Nigerians will really start listening to us.”

Notable PDP leaders present at the meeting included the immediate past governor of Akwa Ibom, Udom Emmanuel; former PDP deputy national chairman, Bode George; BoT chairman, Adolphus Wabara; and Senator Ben Obi.

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