Oyo PDP Crisis Deepens, As Stakeholders Shun Peace Meeting

Oyo PDP Crisis Deepens, As Stakeholders Shun Peace Meeting

The crisis rocking the Oyo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Sunday deepened, as stakeholders failed to turn up for the peace meeting convened by its leader and former governor of the state, Senator Rashidi Ladoja.

It was learnt that a faction loyal to Engr. Seyi Makinde, a governorship aspirant boycotted the ongoing peace and re-conciliatory meeting convened by the leader of the party at his Ondo Street, Bodija, Ibadan residence.

It would be recalled that the party had been enmeshed in leadership crisis since late 2017 after factions loyal to both Ladoja and Makinde held separate congresses.

The party had few weeks ago relying on recommendations of its appeal panel, harmonised the executives in the state, but Ladoja and others protested.

Again Last week, the party leadership was in Ibadan, to find lasting solution to the crisis, it was prevailed upon Ladoja to accept everybody as his subjects as the leader of the party in the South West.

It was learnt that the National Working Committee, NWC, of the party had advised Ladoja to convene the meeting of all major stakeholders of the party.

This was after the former governor had been told to withdraw the case he instituted against NWC.

It was gathered that the decision of the stakeholders to boycott the peace meeting by the faction loyal to Makinde might not be unconnected with the refusal of Ladoja to hold the meeting outside his residence.

The Makinde led faction which has Senators Ayo Adeseun, Hosea Agboola, Hon. Adeola Akande-Adeola, Barr Gbolarumi Hazeem and host of others as members, it further learnt had given conditions for the attendance of the meeting.

“Ladoja, no doubt, is the indisputable leader of the party in the state. One of the conditions was that they were not going to attend any meeting in Ladoja’s Bodija residence.

‘’They wanted the party’s Molete secretariat or a neutral venue. Another one is that there should be a committee comprising representatives of major stakeholders who will design modalities for attendance of any meeting. These conditions were not met,” a source said.