A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Oyo State, Alhaji Bisi Olopoeyan, has revealed that Governor Seyi Makinde might not be re-elected for a second term because of his poor handling of intra party affairs.
Olopoeyan revealed this during a radio interview aired in Yoruba language on Noble FM, in Ibadan, on Monday.
He also stated that the Makinde-led administration has killed the party, destroyed its structure and hindered its development and progress.
“Currently, since the victory of our party at the polls, the government has killed the party. You know what governors do; the moment they secure the ticket on a political platform, they will dump the party.
“But when it’s time for them to seek re-election, they will now start running helter-skelter to hijack the party again. We might want to blame COVID-19 for the poor performance of the party, nevertheless the activities of the party has dwindled.”
He added that even though he worked tirelessly to ensure the governor emerge, the structure of the ruling party is so disorganized that core members of the party have now stopped playing vital roles.
He explained further that the only solution is for the “foundation members of the party to come together and forge a path to resolve the issue.”
loopoeyan also revealed that he had embarked on a reconciliation visit to aggrieved members ahead of the party’s congress in 2021.
He noted that it’s not only Makinde who have neglected party members since he assumed office but all elected political office holders from the party in the state, including members of the two chambers of the National Assembly and state legislators.
“Since they assumed office, some members of the party are yet to set their eyes on the governor, or their representatives at all levels and might not see them until the end of their four year tenure when they will come to seek re-election.”
Speaking on whether this might affect the chances of the party at future elections, he said, “I am not God, so I can’t say whether the party would emerge or not but it’s only a party that performs well that will win at the polls.”
He added that what some politicians do is similar to money rituals because it’s party members who will waste their energy but once those who emerge get to office they will forget the people who worked and voted for them.
When asked whether the current collapse of the party structure is because the government emerged through a coalition, he disputed this and stated that the party would not have emerged without the coalition.
He also refused to rate the performance of the current administration after a year because “he have no idea of what is going on at the state secretariat”.
He then advised politicians in the state to embark on quality projects that will ensure the people enjoy the dividend of democracy.
