• Parralel Congress May Hold
As the Oyo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, holds its congress this morning, its major stakeholders are divided over plan to elect the party executives through consensus arrangement.
Insideoyo.com learnt that Chief Jacob Adetoro, who is one of the chairmanship candidates in today’s congress, left a meeting allegedly presided over by former governor Rashidi Ladoja last night.
Sensing that Ladoja, Sen. Ayoade Adeseun, Oloye Jumoke Akinjide and others are backing Alhaji Omokunmi Mustapha, Adetoro was said to have excused himself from the meeting, saying that he would discuss with his own group on the next line of action.
This is coming after insideoyo.com reported the plan to hold parallel congress over alleged plans by Ladoja and others to dominate party structure.
It was gathered that major stakeholders within the party had agreed to adopt consensus arrangement in choosing the Executives just like they did during the ward and local government congress, until “they got wind that some people are bent on filling juicy positions with their loyalists,” a chieftain of the party told insideoyo.com.
The development is said to have angered majority of the stakeholders especially the trio of Hon. Mulikat Adeola Akande, Sen. Hosea Ayoola and Engr. Seyi Makinde.
Insideoyo.com, however, spoke with some party chieftains who begged not to be named.
“At yesterday’s meeting, efforts to make Chief Adetoro accept the consensus arrangement proved abortive. Why would you ask somebody to step down for another person without any genuine excuse? It’s sad. I pray we don’t end up like we did before the 2015 election. It will even be good if the congress can be shifted to allow us solve this self-inflicted problem,” a party leader sent this as a text to insideoyo.com.
Another source hinted that “With what is on ground, Mustapha has over 800 out of the over 1000 delegates. Even if we go for congress, he would defeat others. I just don’t want us to put ourselves into another unnecessary trouble. Election is around the corner.”
As at the time of filing this report, it is uncertain Adetoro and others would attend the state congress fixed for Watershed Event Centre, Old Ife Road, Ibadan.