Fayose finally bows to Makinde as Southwest PDP leader, father
- PDP is currently holding its southwest congress at Osogbo, the capital of Osun state
- Governor Makinde is supporting Taofeeq Arapaja while Eddy Olafeso has Fayose's support
- The real leader of the party between Fayose and Makinde would be known after the congress
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Ayodele Fayose, a former governor of Ekiti state, has publicly accepted Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo as the southwest zonal leader.
PM News reports that he made the surprise concession at the zonal congress taking place in Osogbo, capital of Osun on Monday, April 12.
Source: Twitter
Legit.ng gathered that the leadership tussle between Makinde and Fayose had heated up the zone, with the PDP NWC having to shift the congress from Ibadan to Osogbo.
The report noted that Fayose bowed having seen in Osogbo that he no longer enjoys the support of many PDP members, as many of the delegates appeared in an Ankara uniform, to show solidarity with Makinde.
Makinde supports Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja as zonal chairman, while Fayose was rooting for Eddy Olafeso.
The Nation also reports that while addressing the congress before the commencement of the election at WOCDIF event centre, Fayose admitted Makinde is the leader and father of the party in the southwest.
He urged supporters to be wary of creating discord among the leaders in PDP, apologising to congress if he had offended anybody.
Fayose said:
“Governor Seyi Makinde is our leader. Our supporters and lovers should not continue to put a hedge in between us. Either way, this election goes, I will accept.
“Even though Arapaja has abused me so much, I will be the first person to visit him in Ibadan. Nobody has offended me and if I have offended anybody, I sincerely apologise. Seyi Makinde remains our father come what may."
In his speech, Makinde told the delegates to see the congress as a family affair, saying that efforts are ongoing to reposition the PDP in the southwest.
He said:
“This is a family affair. It is an attempt to reposition our party in the Southwest. It has ramifications for our party nationally. Whatever the outcome is, we will take it in the spirit of a family contest. We don’t want to defeat ourselves; we want to defeat the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“At the end of this exercise, there will be no victor, no vanquished. As the only Governor of the party in the zone, whoever emerges, I will work with them to reposition the party. I thank you for the peaceful conduct.”
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Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that a chieftain of the PDP, King Okuneye, commended Governor Makinde for his leadership roles in the southwest of Nigeria.
It was reported that the party leader stated that the governor has brought a paradigm change of political leadership in the southwest zone of the country.
Okuneye said that Makinde has won the hearts of both the young and old in and outside politics across the divide with noiseless but purposeful rejig of Nigeria's polity, through infrastructural remold of the state.
Source: Legit.ng
