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Thursday, January 27, 2022

Oyo: Atiku, Saraki failed to reconcile warring PDP members, says party chieftain

“We are authentic party members and not aggrieved as some have been saying. We had our parallel congresses at Jogor Centre. They came to attack us.”

• January 27, 2022
Atiku Abubakar and Bukola Saraki
Atiku Abubakar and Bukola Saraki

The reconciliation of various factions of the Peoples Democratic Party in Oyo is a mirage following former President Atiku Abubakar and ex-Senate President Bukola Saraki’s failed efforts, says Ademola Omotoso, a PDP chieftain.

“Saraki and Atiku groups have been in Ibadan, and we have also been called at the national, but all to no avail. Reconciliation is a mirage and temporal,” Mr Omotoso pointed out on Wednesday in Ibadan while speaking with journalists.

He recounted how committees led by Messrs Atiku Abubakar and Saraki visited the state to reconcile the factions, but to no avail.

“Reconciliation is not at my level. So many attempts have been made for reconciliation. For whatsoever reasons, some people are no longer interested in reconciliation,” added the PDP chieftain.

Mr Omotoso advised political officeholders to execute projects that would uplift the people.

Commenting on the PDP crisis, he said, “We are authentic party members and not aggrieved as some have been saying. We had our parallel congresses at Jogor Centre. They came to attack us. Then, who is the aggrieved? If we are the aggrieved as they have been claiming, we are supposed to have attacked them.”

Mr Omotoso recalled how he worked for the enthronement of the Seyi Makinde-led administration, saying that the governor could not fault his claim.

“When you lay down your life for what you believe, you don’t have to feel that you’ve done something extraordinary. I don’t have regret supporting Makinde,” the PDP chieftain noted. “Makinde was the candidate of the party, and I must support the candidate of the party. Along the line, I don’t know what happened.”

(NAN)

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