About 190,000 members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Oyo State, under the aegis of PDP Vanguard, have drawn a battleline with Governor Seyi Makinde, who is seeking re-election for a second time on office.
It said they have chosen to work against Makinde, and that they would instead support the governorship candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Teslim Folarin, purportedly based on the role Makinde seemed to have played on February 25, which they said was unfavourable to the 2023 presidential candidate of the party, Atiku Abubakar, who lost to the APC candidate, Bola Tinubu.
Coordinator of the group, Akeem Adeyemi, said in a statement that members of PDP Vanguard decided to work for emergence of the APC governorship candidate, Folarin because Makinde allegedly sacrificed the electoral fortunes of PDP national assembly candidates for his personal ambition.
“The PDP Vanguard decided to rise up against Makinde’s political ambition in the future, as he did for the presidential candidate of our party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.”
PDP Vanguard alleged that aside working against party’s candidates, arrogance and selfishness of Makinde in the last four years have crippled the party in the state.
The PDP Vanguard made a reference to a video clip that went viral on the social media in the last few days, where former special adviser to Governor Makinde on Diaspora Matters, Bolanle Sarumi vowed to work against the governor for his purported lackadaisical attitude towards members of the party.
Speaking further on their defection, PDP Vanguard, which has 190,000 members across the state said some of its members attended a recent meeting called by the governor, where Makinde allegedly told them that he had an agreement with Tinubu that he would join APC if he wins elections.
The statement reads: “It is supprising that Makinde could expect us to work for his second term ambition when he arrogantly and deliberately ignored many warnings to support our presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. We can’t stay in the same party with such a betrayal.
“We agree with Bolanle Sarumi’s outburst that those that worked against PDP national assembly candidates must sink. Some of our members only attended the meeting he called to listen to his trash. Makinde has proved to be a serial betrayal and we shall pay him back on Saturday.
“We therefore warn him and his co-travellers to be careful of their sponsored propaganda against Senator Teslim Folarin, whom we have had a working relationship with while in our party. We all know that you are behind the recent attacks on his personality and it cannot safe you on Saturday.”
