Youths in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State have called on leaders and stakeholders in the party to embrace peace and coalesce efforts to ensure peaceful primaries that could lead to the emergence of an acceptable candidate capable of winning the June 18 governorship election.
The youths, under the aegis of Victory Advocates of Nigeria (VAN), who said the only collective effort could win the election, said unity among members was necessary if the PDP genuinely wanted to defeat the ruling party and restore hope to Ekiti State.
VAN National President, Seyi Ajibola, who spoke in Ado Ekiti during the ‘Ekiti Peace and Unity Summit’ in Ado-Ekiti, organised by the group to advise the party on way forward and as well honour some leaders, urged aspirants and other stakeholders to sheathe their sword and embrace peace.
Ajibola said, “In Ekiti, we want a candidate of the people who can project the image and win for the party and let me quickly say that all the aspirants are capable and whoever the party puts forward, we will support him. We want the leaders to bring themselves together, they should not allow the intra-party crisis to mar the chances of the party during the June 18 governorship poll.”
The VAN president said that youths were interested in the unity of the party and would do everything possible to ensure peace with a view to ensure that aspirants and the tendencies close ranks and shelve their personal interests in the “overall interest of the suffering residents of the state who are looking up to the opposition party”.
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He said, “We have a lot of compounded issues in Ekiti PDP that if care is not taken, may mar our chances irrespective of the candidate put forward. We must manage our internal crisis beyond party politics and shelve selfish interests.
“We believe in the unity of purpose and togetherness and we believe, as youths, we can bring them together instead of following them and be used as thugs. We have a lot to bring in terms of ideas.”
Ajibola, who said youths would not join in the issues among the party leaders, said, “All we want is that they should settle their differences in the interest of the party.”
A former PDP presidential campaign spokesman, Segun Showunmi; a former director of media of the party in Ondo State, Zadok Akintoye; former chairman of Ekiti PDP, Chief Bola Olu-Oju; and other leaders spoke and were honoured at the summit.
