Ahead of the 2023 elections, political gladiators have begun moves to take control of the structure of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State, a development that is further fuelling the protracted crisis in the party, our correspondent reports.
For almost 10 years, the centre could no longer hold in the PDP in Ogun State, due to what insiders attribute to power play and insatiable desire for the control of the party structure among top echelons and moneybags in its fold in the state.
The endless seeds of discord were sown in 2011 at the twilight of the administration of then governor Gbenga Daniel which forced the party out of power in the state, leaving it wallowing in the wilderness of opposition.
The wrangling in the Ogun PDP, which was said to have been the genesis of the crisis in the party in the southwestern states, haunted the party in both the 2015 and 2019 elections.
A number of key players in the crisis, like former governor Daniel, former President Olusegun Obasanjo; the party’s gubernatorial candidate in 2011, retired General Adetunji Olurin and three-time governorship candidate, Gboyega Nasir Isiaka have since left the party.
They left behind a former senator representing Ogun East, Buruji Kashamu and former House of Representatives member, Hon Ladi Adebutu, at the centre of the crisis.
In the buildup to the 2019 election, Adebutu and Kashamu emerged governorship candidates at the primaries conducted separately by the two factions they led. While the National Working Committee (NWC) backed Adebutu’s candidacy, the court later ordered INEC to accept Kashamu’s candidature.
The court held that the Bayo Dayo-led executive was valid as against the Sikirulai Ogundele excos by the NWC.
Kashamu contested in the 2019 election without the support of the national leadership of the PDP, while the Adebutu group backed the candidate of Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Adekunle Akinlade.
There were strong indications that Kashamu worked for Abiodun’s victory in the election, wherein PDP managed to clinch one House of Representatives seat as well as the State House of Assembly.
Shortly after the 2019 election, the Adebutu-led PDP began what he called the unification of the party ahead of 2023. An enlarged meeting held in Abeokuta, which was attended by the National Chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, among others, saw the return of many PDP leaders who had dumped the party. Kashamu’s faction was not in attendance.
As the tenure of the Dayo-led PDP exco expires, a peace move was reportedly launched by some leaders to resolve the lingering crisis. In February, the two groups met with Secondus in Abuja where they reportedly agreed to sheath their swords.
At the meeting attended by the Secretary of the Kashamu-backed PDP faction, Semiu Sodipo and others from the group, it was agreed that the ward, LG and state congresses in Ogun should be put on hold pending the NWC directives.
However, Dayo distanced Kashamu’s faction from the peace agreement, saying Sodipo who was at the Abuja meeting had been suspended.
In a swift reaction, however, Sodipo said his suspension would not stand because the chairman “lacks powers to do so.”
Controversial congresses
Despite the NWC’s directive, the Dayo-led PDP conducted ward and LG congresses where the executives reportedly emerged.
The outgoing executive claimed it conducted both ward and LGAs congresses.
Our correspondent’s findings revealed that the two congresses held in the interval of two weeks were only conducted in one or two LGAs out of 20 councils in the state.
Less than a month after Sodipo was suspended for hobnobbing with Adebutu’s faction, Dayo equally pitched tent with the Adebutu’s faction. Daily Trust gathered that Adebutu had succeeded in luring Sodipo and Dayo who were arrowheads of Kashamu’s struggle to his side in an attempt to deplete his (Kashamu’s) political arsenal.
And Kashamu fired back. On Monday, the PDP loyal to Kashamu in a statement signed by the Publicity Secretary, Oyejide Sunkanmi, announced Dayo’s suspension as the state chairman, citing alleged anti-party activities.
Kashamu, Dayo clash
Kashamu in a statement he signed on Tuesday accused Dayo of betrayal, saying he was hell-bent on trading the party structure for “mere N100m.”
In his reaction, Dayo described Kashamu as a “bad politician” who did not care about the interest of his followers.
Speaking with our correspondent, Adebutu denied attempting to buy PDP for N100m.
The media consultant, Ladi Adebutu Development Organisation, Afolabi Orekoya, told Daily Trust that “the claimant (Kashamu) is confused. How can a party as strong and viable be sold by an individual to another individual?
“Moreso, Hon. Oladipupo Adebutu is one of the faithful national leaders of PDP in Ogun State. How can he intend to buy the party in which he is a leader? There’s never any intention to buy PDP by the Adebutu family,” he said.
When will this dust settle? Will peace ever return to Ogun PDP? What is the fate of the reconciliatory moves? These are questions agitating the minds of political observers in the state.
