The Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, on Thursday, took what appeared to be a subtle dig at the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, declaring that he does not “go low with anyone who decides to go into the gutters.”
Makinde made the remark while addressing journalists shortly after the South-West Zoning Consultative Summit of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) held in Lagos.
The meeting, convened ahead of the PDP’s National Executive Committee (NEC) gathering scheduled for Monday, attracted top party stakeholders including the Chairman of PDP Board of Trustees (BoT), Senator Adolphus Wabara; Chairman of the party’s National Zoning Committee and Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri; Governors Ademola Adeleke of Osun, Peter Mbah of Enugu (represented by his deputy, Ifeanyi Ossai); former Osun Governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola; Chief Bode George; Senator Monsurat Sunmonu, and at least 12 of the 17 PDP National Assembly members from the South, Egalitarian Voice reports.
Speaking on threats of division within the party and attacks from aggrieved members, Makinde hinted at differences in leadership style, indirectly shading Wike.
“Personally, when people go low or go into the gutters, I don’t go with them. Some people are not going into the gutters. We will reach out to them. That is democracy.
I can disagree with people, but there shouldn’t be anything personal here. It should be about what we are giving to Nigerians because they are watching,” he said.
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Makinde, however, stressed that the PDP remained a strong political force despite internal disagreements, pointing to recent electoral performances.“In all our states, they showed last Saturday that PDP is not dead. In most other places of the 12 states, PDP came second. It is an indication to us that if we continue to work hard, we can reclaim the confidence of Nigerians,” he noted.
On the zoning summit itself, Makinde highlighted the wide representation of stakeholders, describing the gathering as a serious step towards rebuilding the party.
“Governor Ademola Adeleke is here. He came back into the country this morning and went straight to address some governance issues before joining us. Governor Douye Diri is also here. Governor Peter Mbah, who could not make it physically, sent his deputy governor.
You have the chairman of the Board of Trustees here. You also have at least 12 of the 17 members of the zoning committee from the South. In each zone, there are representatives of senators, House of Representatives members, and BOT members. So, this shows wide representation,” Makinde explained.
While admitting that political meetings rarely achieve 100 percent attendance, the Oyo governor assured that the party would continue to engage critical stakeholders not present at the Lagos summit.
On speculations about the zoning of the PDP presidential ticket, Makinde said the issue was premature.
“We haven’t even gotten there. We need to have a party first before you start talking about presidential candidates. If we don’t have a party, anything you are trying to do will fall flat.
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Our efforts right now are directed towards having a vibrant and united PDP that Nigerians will be proud of and believe in again,” he stated.
The Lagos zoning consultative summit is expected to influence discussions at the PDP’s NEC meeting on Monday, where critical decisions on the party’s future direction will be taken.
