PDP SET TO TAKE OVER KWARA, SAYS OYEDEPO The peoples’ Democratic Party, (PDP), is now fully prepared to sweep the 2015 polls and form government in Kwara State by May 29. Akogun Iyiola Oyedepo, State Chairman of the party in the state who made the declaration at Isanlu –Isin announced that the crisis that trailed the party’s primaries has been nipped in the bud making the party to wax stronger to face the challenge of the forthcoming elections squarely. He said the wrangling that characterized post party primaries was expected as the beauty of democracy in a situation where over 300 people jostled for just 34 elective positions. The Chairman explained that the crisis resolution mechanism the party put in place right from the beginning made it possible to reconcile aggrieved aspirants with winners of all the party primaries. He said to the contrary, none of the contestants has defected to another political party rather, more staunch opposition party members were dumping the ruling All Progressives Congress, (APC) to join PDP. He cited the case of Professor Sunday Opabola, Senior Special Adviser to Governor AbdulFatah Ahmed on Secondary Healthcare and State Chairman on Ebola Disease Control who resigned his appointment to join PDP after the primaries. Professor Opabola also affirmed Oyedepo’s claim at the occasion adding that his exit from the ruling APC was like letting one out of a cage to breathe the air of freedom. Oyedepo added that all other aspirants have united behind the party candidates to work for their success and that of the party at the polls. According to the chairman, “the opposition were on the lookout that the primaries will tear PDP into shreds in Kwara on account of the sheer large number of aspirants alone. “The opposition, especially the ruling APC government’ calculation was that crisis that the party primary would generate would weaken PDP and boost electoral fortunes of the opposition. “Though, 300 vied for 34 positions which generated lots crisis, but thank God, all our people have united and agreed to work for all the party’s 34 candidates produced by the primaries”, Oyedepo said. The Party is fielding 24 candidates for the State House of Assembly election, six for the House of Representatives, three for the Senate and Senator Simeon Sule Ajibola for the governorship election. Oyedepo described the emergence of all PDP candidates in Kwara State as divine intervention starting from the elections of all the party’s executives from ward through Local Government to the State levels. He said by divine intervention, Senator Ajibola is a dark horse candidate in the governorship polls and not a weakling as being touted by the opposition. “Ajibola is not a weakling at all but a very strong character by all standards. It is when we get to the polls that you will realize that the people of Kwara State are very tired of Senator Bukola Saraki-led ruling APC government”, Oyedepo stressed. He disclosed that PDP is putting wining arrangement in place to be headed by Deacon John Dara reputed for packaging supposedly unpopular candidates to the seat of power. He buttressed his claim of Deacon Dara’s feat with the emergence of late Michael Otedola as Lagos State Governor during the Third Republic and former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999. His words: “Deacon Dara specializes in building the assumed weak or seemingly unpopular into a strong candidate and that was how he built Otedola of the NRC from zero to the top. “Dara did this against the backdrop of contending and supposedly very popular Social Democratic Party, (SDP) candidates in persons late Agbalajobi and Dapo Sarumi vying for Lagos State Governorship. “Again, Dara was called to duty in 1999 to package General Obasanjo, a relatively unpopular PDP presidential candidate to victory against the odds of veteran First to Third Republic Politicians”, Oyedepo said. The Kwara PDP Chairman said Dara successfully accomplished those political assignments away from home but he is now being called to duty to repeat the feats in his home state of Kwara. “John Dara is the Man God has assigned to be the Director General of the PDP Campaign team to do it once more for Kwara”, Oyedepo reiterated. The PDP Chairman enjoined Party faithful and Kwara electorate to shun immediate pecuniary interests as better days were ahead for the people if PDP wins the state. “I appealed to everybody to look at what would be gained if PDP wins Kwara as benefits would be more to all than the individual becoming governor, deputy governor or state house or national assembly member. “There are many positions, opportunities in government for several people to fill just as PDP government would patronize more of local contractors, stop capital flight and replace white elephant projects with people oriented programmes”, he added. Oyedepo said the whistle has been blown for all the party members to get set on their marks for the emancipation of Kwara through the ballot boxes. The coming election battle will not strictly be fought on the basis of cash alone but by opening the eyes of the people and exposing the rot being perpetrated by the APC-led administration for 12 years. “The battle of rescuing Kwara from socio-economic bondage would not be fought with guns, political thugs or tissues of lie but by information dissemination, sensitization on PDP issues based programmes to mobilize the people. “Therefore, it is now work time for the individual and we should not rest on our oars that after all, we have overcome the challenges of crisis that followed the party primaries”, Oyedepo declared. He reiterated that the task of winning elections transcended holding positions as there would be division of labour in the face of current challenge of defeating the incumbent. He challenged party faithful to work assiduously for the party’s success at the poll and brace up for the door-to-door campaign strategy to be adopted. He also used the occasion to rally support for President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan re-election as well as those contesting the national assembly polls from Kwara, saying the February 14 victory would make the of election of the governor and state Assembly members in Kwara State a walk over for the PDP.
Posted on: Fri, 09 Jan 2015 08:59:28 +0000
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