*Says Nigerians will decide at the right time
*Warns those trying to scuttle the party’s convention not to attempt suicide
By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja
Governor of Oyo State, Engineer Seyi Makinde has declared that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, is not so much concerned or bothered about the gale of defections of its Governors, Senators and others, stressing that defection is not peculiar to only the party or Nigeria.
Makinde, who is also the Chairman, Transportation sub-committee of the PDP’s forthcoming elective national convention in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, on November 15 and 16 this year, said this on Monday in Abuja while answering questions from Journalists shortly after the inauguration of his committee.
The Oyo State Governor maintained that the defection of the PDP Governors and others to the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, was not too much of concern to his party, pointing out that Nigerians will decide the fate of the political parties at the appropriate time.
Makinde, who is widely believed to be nursing a presidential ambition ahead of the 2027 general election, declared that nobody can set agenda for him because he is old enough to decide on his own.
On the issue of defection of Governors and others from PDP to APC, he said, “We’re not concerned, and we’re not bothered, because the ultimate decider here will be the Nigerian people.
“And the only time i will be concerned, the only time that we will be concerned as a party, is when we see hunger defect from the ordinary people on the streets and join APC, then that’s the time we will be concerned”, he said.
Continuing, the Governor said, “We have a party that has gone through a full cycle. We have been in power when democracy returned to Nigeria in 1999.
We’ve gone through those challenges of governing this country. “We have people with experience that have led or occupied positions of leadership in this country. And we’ve gone to the bottom of it, when we lost power in 2015, and we’ve been in opposition since then.
“So, challenges will come and go, but for us as leaders, no matter what situation we find ourselves in, organizing the party, it’s not the end in itself.
“The end is for Nigerians to have democracy, and for Nigerians to have a party that they can relate to. So, if you’re saying somebody is defecting, our house is not in order, democracy is about conflict and conflict resolution, and also resilience.
“In fact, we must be happy that we have a party that has refused to be distracted, that has stayed focused on what the Nigerian people would like to see.
“Do we want a one-party state in Nigeria? From the last time I checked, the answer is no. Nigerian people, they want a multi-party democracy, they want people to come up with ideas, and that is exactly what we’re doing in PDP. So we’re not distracted”, he declared.
Speaking about the party’s forthcoming national convention, Makinde said, “we just had the inaugural meeting of the transportation subcommittee, and as you probably saw downstairs, we had the deputy chairman of the National Convention organizing committee, Ibadan, 2025, with us, in the person of my brother, former minister, Tanimu Turaki, SAN.
“So, it’s just a demonstration of the fact that the National Convention of our great party, the train has moved, and whoever is trying to stop a moving train is probably also trying to commit suicide.
“So, my advice is, please, no matter how highly placed, no matter what has transpired in the past, we don’t want to see anyone dead. So, please don’t commit suicide. And in terms of the work of the subcommittee itself, we brought a new idea to the table.
“If you remember, the last convention, 2021, I served as the secretary of that convention committee. But today, I’ve been asked to chair a subcommittee, and in the spirit of doing everything and anything to put our party on the path that Nigerians would love to see, we decided that no amount of assignment is too small or too big.
“So, if they like, let them say I should be the one to clean the floor in Ibadan.For the sake of this party, for the sake of democracy in Nigeria, I will gladly do it.
“So, one innovation that we’ve brought on the table, and this came from the interactive session with members of the committee, is that we’re not going to leave party members, party faithfuls, and the delegates to get to Ibadan before we start our work. We’ll start our job right from when they want to step out of their various states, and we’ll manage the process all the way to Ibadan, and back to their various states after a successful national convention” he assured.
